Look Into My Eyes, And Tell Me You Love Me
by prettymuchquixotic
Summary: 'At the end of the week, you'll see that you don't love me anymore. Everything will go back to normal, even you. I'm just sorry you had to bear with me for so long. I'm sorry it had to be me, the Mudblood you would never look twice at.'
1. Preface

Look Into My Eyes, And Tell Me You Love Me: Preface

_Ron is gone. Ron is gone_. These words of Ginny Weasley ringed in the head of a certain Muggle born brunette as she curled herself up in a ball and cried her eyes out. Many times have the Golden Trio escaped danger, or found a way to avoid it, and now it seems so unrealistic that her ginger haired friend was gone. Hermione Granger was alone in the Astronomy Tower, her back against the cold hard wall crying to make the pain go away. It was not working

She was so confused now, because she had been so angry at Ronald a few nights before, and now she regretted it. The tears seemed to stream down her face endlessly as she thought about it over and over again. Everything happened so fast, and the last thing she saw before Ron disappeared was his eyes staring right at her, almost pleading to help him although he knew that his best friend was unable to do so due to the situation at that time.

Hermione was mentally beating herself up, regardless of the fact that she had already been doing so by refusing to eat or sleep. By separating herself from her friends and refraining from speaking for the past few days since Ron was taken from them by Death Eaters. She was almost certain that they had already killed him, or even worse torturing him with the other Unforgivable Curse to gain information from him.

Harry had been quite busy too, though. He was equally devastated by the incident but he had no choice but to put aside his feelings as he had to concentrate in Occlumency, to prevent the Dark Lord from messing with his head. Thus, Hermione was left alone with no one to share her grief with. She had thought about spending time with Ginny because she would have felt even more hurt because despite of her many siblings she still lost a brother, but every time Hermione set eyes on Ginny she cried even more because she looked like him.

Suddenly Hermione heard footsteps heading towards the Astronomy Tower. _That's odd_, she thought. After a while nobody bothered to go there because Hermione would always be there crying. It was a heart-breaking yet pitiful sight to see, and so most of the students just stopped going to there. It was as though Hermione had haunted the Astronomy Tower like Moaning Myrtle does in the Second Floor Girls Bathroom.

Hermione did not lift her head up to see her visitor and just continued crying. _They'll go away eventually_, she thought, but no. The figure approached Hermione and sat next to her. In silence the figure placed one hand around her and Hermione immediately felt the warmth of the person next to her. _It must be Harry_, and she slowly snuggled into his embrace. Only Harry understood the silence that was needed to be conveyed when Hermione was sad, and so without looking she thought she knew this person next to her but after a while that person let out a slight cough, and in an instant Hermione Granger knew it was not The Boy Who Had Lived who was sitting next to her.

**So who d'you think was sitting next to Hermione? (: The answer is obvious, of course :D**


	2. Hope

Look Into My Eyes, And Tell Me You Love Me: Hope

'M-Malfoy, w-what are you doing?' Hermione recollected herself and slowly moved herself away from the Slytherin Prince. Her voice was croaky and soft because she had not talked in such a long time.

'Mmff', Draco ignored her question as he retracted his hand from around her and tried to stand up, sensing his presence was unwanted.

Hermione was even more confused by this gesture of the boy who had called her 'Mudblood' several times. It was not like Draco Malfoy to touch a Mudblood, let alone the one that punched him in the face in their Third Year causing him a pretty bad nose-bleed.

'Malfoy, why are you acting this way?' The question spilled out of Hermione, although it was not the correct way to structure it. But then again _'Malfoy, why did you put your hand around me and let me lean against you to cry without you saying anything about it'_ didn't seem appropriate either. It was not Draco's actions that surprised Hermione, it was the thought of doing so.

Draco stood up and brushed some dirt off his robes, then gave Hermione his trademark smirk and began to walk out. It was as if he purposely didn't want to answer Hermione and enjoyed the confused look on her face. Hermione on the other hand, was not letting it go without a proper explanation. Her mind could not think of any possible reason why the platinum blonde-haired pureblood would do such a thing.

She scrambled to get up but she found that her knees were weak and numb from sitting down for an extended period of time. She stumbled a little and gave out a slight yelp when she tripped over a rock but she used the wall to help herself regain balance.

Draco turned back to look at her when she yelped, gazing at her intensely not with judging eyes as he usually did, but his silvery-grey eyes looked worried as Hermione tried her best not to injure herself to stand up. After a while Hermione realised Draco was looking at her, and he turned away and walked out of the Astronomy Tower.

Hermione darted towards him, stumbling along the way as her legs were not quite used to walking, and she called out for him.

'malfoy, Malfoy, MALFOY' her voice became louder every time she tried to shout. Draco stopped in his tracks when Hermione managed to scream out his name, and turned around to face her. The soft, worried look had left his eyes and it was back to the icy cold look. He looked angry. He walked towards her and then pushed her against the wall of one of the hallways. Hermione's eyes became bigger as Draco pinned her to the wall, their face only about an inch away from each other.

Hermione was breathing heavily and she realised that she had never been so close to Malfoy's face before. It was flawless, with high cheek bones and long eyelashes. His lips were slightly pink and his hair looked smooth and silky.

'What do you want, Granger' Draco insisted. His breath smelt like Firewhiskey, and then Hermione realised he was slightly drunk. Drunk enough to do stupid things, but not drunk enough to lose his arrogance and his ego, she thought.

'I- I want to know, why, why you did what you did..'

His silvery-grey eyes stared deeply into her beautiful brown ones which were still red from crying with intensity and a slight bit of anger, and she felt challenged by it. She looked back at him without breaking the stare, expecting him to answer her.

'Fine,' He let go of Hermione and took a few steps back to give her space.

'I pity you, Granger. I know how you feel, losing someone to the Death Eaters. I mean, it's not that I actually feel the way you do, I don't really care about anyone. It's just that I know, because my mother has always suffered the wrath of the Dark Lord himself, for taking away my father from her ever so often.'

'Well I don't need your pity Malfoy, you can just shove off and pity someone who actually doesn't mind you being around them. Or maybe you can just sit by the mirror then because such a person doesn't actually exist!'

Hermione felt hurt that Draco Malfoy pitied her. Had she been so weak that even the most heartless person felt pity for her? She suddenly became conscious of her actions from the past few days. She was being all pitiful and sad about the whole matter but what else could she do? Still, Malfoy's words hurt her, which was unusual because she had became immune to his snotty comments about her. Maybe it was because she was in such a fragile state.

She turned to walk back to her common room but Draco grabbed her wrist and once again slammed her against the wall. Hermione let out a cry of pain because her head had knocked the wall pretty hard. Draco's face was so close to hers once again, but this time he tilted his head a bit so that his lips were much closer to hers. Hermione dared not move even the slightest bit to avoid any contact with Draco, but Draco was looking down at Hermione's lips. Hermione could see how lusciously long his eyelashes were, and stared at them for a while.

'But then again' Draco whispered, 'You didn't mind me being around you then, did you, Granger? You seemed to enjoy my presence and was pretty comfortable the whole time I was there.'

'Ugh' Hermione let out a sigh of disgust. Draco was right. She didn't mind him being there, and the warmth of his body was truly comforting. However much she hated Draco Malfoy, she could not deny the fact that he actually took the initiative to comfort her. Even if it was a drunken Malfoy's actions, it was as charming as a sober Malfoy was towards girls. Well, all girls except for her and other Muggle-borns.

'I'm going to let you go now, but you must never, ever, tell anyone about this, or I might just arrange something special for your Weasel friend, that is if he is alive of course.' and Draco Malfoy pushed her against the wall one more time before letting her go, strutting off to his own common room.

Hermione sunk to the ground again. Was it possible that Draco knew about Ron's condition? His parents were Death Eaters anyway. Could she use this chance to get Ron back? Or was this the speech of one drunk Draco Malfoy, exaggerating his capabilities without actually proving it? But all she knew was that this is a chance, for her, to stop the pain and get Ron back before its too late.

**Hope you like the story so far ! (: Review please :D and if you're up to it, leave your predictions on what you think would happen next ! If you're close to being right I'll send you a preview of the next chapter ;**

**Besides that, I will be posting chapters alternately. One day I'll post the chapter for this story, tomorrow I'll post the chapter for my other story (: ; cheers!**


	3. Change

Look Into My Eyes, And Tell Me You Love Me: Change

Draco Malfoy woke up to find himself lying on the couch of the Slytherin Common Room. His back was stiff and his head was pounding when he sat up, trying to recall what had happened last night. He sat up slowly, grunting in pain and then bent over to put his face in his hands.

'Took you long enough to wake up' a familiar voice said from the chair next to the couch.

Draco lifted his head to see one Blaise Zabini comfortably sitting in the chair next to him fiddling with a Rubiks Cube.

'Zabini, what the hell? Were you waiting for me to wake up or something?' Draco said in an annoyed tone of voice. He was never a morning person, always grouchy. It was a surprise that Blaise was willing to put up with him.

'In your dreams Malfoy, I was just trying to figure out this blasted Muggle invention without throwing it at you to wake you up. Plus it's a Saturday today.' Zabini looked agitated trying to solve the Rubiks Cube, a puzzled look on his face.

'Whatever,' Draco said as he reached for his wand in his pocket and accio-ed the potion for his hangover. It was a mild one compared to how drunk Draco had been previously, and he was back to his normal self in a matter of seconds.

'So where were you last night? It was like you disappeared. Shagging some girl in a broom cupboard again? It wouldn't be surprising though,' Blaise said absent-mindedly, most of his concentration was still focused on the Rubik's Cube.

_I was nowhere to be seen because I was at the only place where no one goes to, _Draco thought to himself. _Damnit. _At that moment he regained full memory of what happened last night in the Astronomy Tower with the Mudblood. _What the hell was I thinking then? Damnit_. Argh._ Great now she's going to think that I feel compassionate towards her. Damn. Wait, what? Why do I care what she thinks. She's just that Mudblood. Damnit. I'm never going to wander around the castle drunk. Fuck._ Draco felt like punching himself for being so stupid. He sighed.

'Hello? Malfoy are you there? Or has this girl shagged the brains out of you,' Blaise burst out in laughter of his own 'joke'.

'Merlin, Zabini. Get a life, or at least a girlfriend so I don't have to listen to you talk about shagging, I would pity her though' Draco let out his trademark smirk.

'Bloody hell, Draco!' and Blaise threw his Rubik's Cube at Draco, hitting him in the shoulder.

'Merlin! What was that for you idiot!' Draco screamed, holding the Rubik's Cube in his hand. He was puzzled by the plastic cube with nine small squares on each side of the cube.

'That's for insulting me, _and _for me to relieve my frustration in not being able to solve that ruddy thing. It's like shooting two birds with one stone'

'It's a Muggle device.'

'What an amazing observation Draco!' Blaise exclaimed with a tinge of sarcasm in his voice.

'Ugh. What's the point of this thing anyway?' Draco rolled his eyes.

'It's like a game. You're supposed to move the pieces of the cube until all the colours of the cube are in their correct places, which is when all the cubes of the same colour are on the same side of the cube'

'These Muggles have a terrible sense of fun now have they? This thing looks impossible, but whatever, at least I'm not dumb enough to want to indulge in this time consuming thing. Let's go for breakfast.' Draco spat, tossing the Rubik's Cube back at Blaise.

'Lunch, you mean' said Blaise, who started fiddling with the Cube again.

Draco went to change into clean robes and then began to walk to the Great Hall with Blaise. He was starting to feel the pangs of hunger and walked quickly to the Slytherin table for some decent food. The two made their usual grand entry into the Great Hall, looking as if they were superior compared to everyone else.

Hermione on the other hand was just finishing up on her lunch and was about to leave when she saw Draco sitting at the Slytherin table. She had begun speaking to everyone again, although a few people had stirred away from her to avoid conversation. She was in a very fragile state and some people feared that if they were to say the wrong things she might end up crying again, and everyone knew that it was very hard for her to stop. Ginny was glad that Hermione was talking to her again, despite the fact that she very much wanted to let out her own feelings about the situation to Hermione, Ron was the closest to her, mainly because the age gap was just a year. But she knew that it would take some time before they could talk about that sensitive matter, and that she should be glad that Hermione was slowly becoming her normal self. Very slowly.

Hermione had absent-mindedly drifted her view to look at Draco, who was eating his food hungrily but still full of poise and manner. It took a while for Draco to realise that Hermione was looking at him, due to the fact that he was too busy tending to his stomach. When he finally looked up to stare back at Hermione, she immediately glanced away, not even knowing why she had set eyes on him in the first place. She bit her lip as she thought about last night, blood rushing to her face, and then stood up to leave the Great Hall.

'See you later okay Gin? I have to finish my Potions essay. How about we meet at Quidditch practice?'

'Okay Hermione,' Ginny said and tried to put on a sincere smile.

While Hermione was slowly walking towards the entrance of the Great Hall, Draco Malfoy suddenly stood up from his seat and hurriedly stormed towards the exit, as if trying to beat Hermione to the door. Hermione noticed this, and, to avoid all awkwardness, decided to bend down to tie her shoelaces again to stall. When she stood up again the pureblood was nowhere to be seen. _Strange_, Hermione thought.

Hermione sat at her usual spot in the library starting on her Potions essay, trying her best not to break down into tears in public, again. She tried to think positively of Draco Malfoy helping her to get Ron back, whether he liked it or not. She was not about to lose her edge for studies and concentrated with all her heart to ace her assignment.

When she was done she headed down to the Quidditch pitch and sat next to Ginny.

'Hey Gin, Harry finally making a move?' Hermione asked, pointing to the flowers which were next to Ginny.

'He's really sweet but he's been quite busy nowadays. These are actually for you, Hermione!' Ginny said, handing over the bouquet of roses to Hermione.

'Me?'

'Yes you! It's your secret admirer!'

'Secret? So do _you_ know who it is?'

'Well, I'm quite sure, but he made me promise not to tell you anything about the sender.'

'Come on Gin! Now I _have_ to know because I know that you know!' a very agitated Hermione pleaded, shaking Ginny's arm.

'He said that he'll reveal himself when the time is right.' Ginny replied briefly, trying not to get into the details.

Hermione let out a sigh and then turned to look at the practice that was going on. Harry was there, looking a little zoned out, it was obvious he was still thinking of Ron. Draco was there too, and he was fully concentrated on the Snitch in front of him. He was eager to catch it since Harry was in no state of mind to play. Hermione found herself looking at Draco once again, before regaining her senses and snapping out of it. _Hermione, why do you keep looking at Malfoy?_

'But I can tell you one thing,' Ginny blurted out, breaking Hermione's train of thought.

'He's a _Slytherin_.'

**Did Draco send the flowers? Is this story going to be as predictable as it seems? O: OR IS RON A SECRET SLYTHERIN WHOSE IN AN UNDERCOVER MISSION AND HE CAN'T TELL ANYONE? LOL JK (: read on ! and leave a comment or your own prediction!**


	4. Second Guesses

Look Me In The Eyes, And Tell Me You Love Me : Second Guesses

'Slytherin? ' Hermione gasped. Surprisingly the only person she thought of when Ginny said that house name was none other than Draco Malfoy. She hit herself mentally about that thought. She thought that she had let go of that night's incident already.

'Ginny are you sure?'

'Well, yeah..'

'_Well, yeah_ isn't very convincing Ginny' Hermione pointed out, half-hoping Ginny had got it wrong.

'The person who delivered it was a Slytherin, and he seemed like he was close to the Secret Admirer, and refusing to name him. That's my guess though,' Ginny reasoned.

'But Ginny, what if a senior bribed him into sending it and threatened him if he chose not to do so?' Hermione knew the Slytherin character by heart and was not willing to let herself to be absorbed into thinking the Slytherin Prince himself had sent her flowers.

''Mione, the sender isn't one of those who lay at the bottom of the popularity chart, but I've said too much already!' Ginny quickly summed up her theory on the deliverer fearing that her smart friend might already have an idea on who it might be.

'Fine then, Ginny' Hermione let out another sigh and slumped her shoulders, watching the Quidditch practice.

Several times she pondered over the thought of Draco Malfoy and the possibility of him liking her, which she shoved away after reasoning again that it could never be possible. After all, it was Draco Malfoy she was thinking of, the tall, handsome Slytherin with piercing grey eyes and a glance that could make girls weak to their knees. He drove girls crazy with his playful smirk and the way he works around girls. Slytherin sex god, and the talk of almost every girl in Hogwarts. Then again almost every girl in Hogwarts had been laid by Draco Malfoy, with no complaints whatsoever. The thought of Hermione being the next one was sickening yet surprisingly arousing. She reasoned again that if Malfoy really wanted to get in her knickers he would just ask her straight up besides sending flowers like a gentleman. But who else would send her flowers? Was it some sick joke to get back at a heartbroken girl?

After a while Hermione realised that it had been some time since she was thinking of Ron. Feeling as if she betrayed her friend by thinking of her enemy, her stomach cringed. The effect that Draco had towards girls was very strong, and she understood now why many girls go head over heels for the grey-eyed Slytherin. She felt even more confused and decided to focus on a way to get Ron back.

..

'Professor Dumbledore will see you now Miss Granger' announced Professor McGonagall and Hermione hurriedly walked towards the Phoenix statue which guarded the stairway to their headmasters' office. McGonnigal handed a slip of paper to her.

'Grindylow Grip' announced Hermione, and the Phoenix statue started turning to reveal the twisted staircase.

'I assure you Miss Granger; the Aurors are doing their best to find Mr. Weasley. Mrs. Weasley is making sure that that happens, but she would be pleased to know that another kind soul shares her worry. 'Dumbledore said calmly as Hermione walked into his office, Dumbledore's eyes looking through some documents.

'Oh, well, oh thank you sir. But i also have to bring up another matter' and with that, Dumbledore peeked at Hermione over the documents as a sign of interest.

'Well, it's about Malfoy sir, do you think he might be able to assist us since he has personal connections with.. Them?' Hermione mentioned suggestively.

'Ahh, brilliant as you are Ms. Granger, we have realised his importance and executed the plan. In fact it was executed just this morning!' Dumbledore explained.

'You.. You.. Really sir?' Hermione's face lightened up and she smiled. Her fears of her suggestion being rejected died down after listening to the Headmaster's words.

'Yes, Miss Granger. Now i need you to keep your ears open and your speech keen on extracting information from Mr. Malfoy. After all, you are a part of the plan. Thank you Miss Granger and I believe it is almost curfew and you should be going back to your dorm now'

Hermione felt a bit relieved that Dumbledore was doing something to help, and for once in four days she would be able to sleep properly. But what was this Malfoy plan which she was already involved in and had no idea of. Professor Dumbledore had always been a smart man, and a mysterious one of that. Hermione was pretty confused but decided to leave that matter to rest for now, because she really did need the rest. Four days of crying doesn't come easy without the use of a lot of energy.

On the way back to her dorm there was a figure leaning against the wall in the hallway. Hermione sped up her walking pace and tried to avoid the figure but as she passed by the figure grabbed her hand and cornered her on the wall.

'Malfoy' she said in a dismissive tone of voice. Uninterested, she turned towards the side and tried to push Malfoy away, which was done in vain for he was strong and would not be moved.

Draco leaned close into her face and stared deep into her eyes, 'What are you playing at, Granger? You could have just asked if you wanted. You always have to do it the hard way now do you.'

She didn't understand what Draco was talking about but when Hermione opened her mouth to answer but right at that moment Draco leaned in and kissed her full on her lips, unable to contain the burning urge to do so inside of him, it was as if he rammed his lips into hers. Hermione was absolutely shocked by his gesture and wanted to pull away from him- which was a stupid idea because her back was against the wall and she could not move back further- , knowing that this was wrong but it felt so good, all her pain and anger washed away by the soft lips of Draco, his toned body pressing up against her, causing her to lose her breath once in a while. It was magical, and she never felt that way before, not with Ron, or Viktor. It was as if his body moved perfectly against hers, and his hands caressed her back, ever so gently, slowly pulling her closer to him, never wanting to let her go, their bodies inseparable as they grinded against each other. She gently slid her tongue into his mouth, exploring his mouth, swirling her tongue against his. His hands tightened his grip around her, causing her to let out a soft moan, and he knew he couldn't stop, not now, not at this perfect moment, not ever.

Hermione was giddy with lust, greedily tasting every bit of Draco's mouth, as she ran her fingers through his perfect hair. She had never felt so complete in the past month, and even Ron's kissing was not as good as Draco's. But just as she was about to lose control from grinding her hips against the bulge of Draco's pants, he let go of her, and forcefully slammed her against the wall one more time.

'You see what you made me do, Granger.' His eyes filled with dissatisfaction. Hermione could see clearly that he wanted more, more of her, of what they had just did, but he was restraining. The look in his eyes bore a hole through Hermione. He looked at her like he was going to pounce on her and rip off all her clothes, and at the same time he looked like he was going to kill her in the process. Hermione was so aroused and confused by Draco at the same time. She had never felt so much fire pulse through her body, let alone the wetness between her thighs.

Draco angrily walked off towards his dormitory, and Hermione could not understand what he was feeling. Why did Draco blame Hermione for him wanting to kiss her?

**(: you guys are adorable! The moment I introduce the second Slytherin into the story all of you think that it's him already :D ; you may be right, may be wrong, but don't worry, I have written until chapter 10 already and the story won't change just so your guesses are made to be right/wrong O: **

**Till then, thanks for reading so far! (; I never thought anyone would Story Alert this or even read this , so thank you (: x**


	5. Mr Secret Admirer

Look Into My Eyes, And Tell Me You Love Me : Mr. Secret Admirer

_Brown eyes, curly hair, soft skin. Lips. Oh her lips. So full and soft. Her warm tongue against mine. Fuck. So good, so good. Damn. Granger._

_.._

'_Roses are red,_

_Violets are blue._

_Chocolate may be sweet,_

_But nothing is sweeter compared to you._

_Love, Your Secret Admirer'_

Hermione opened the lid of a heart-shaped box to find twelve heart-shaped chocolates placed perfectly inside of it. This is the second gift she had received from her 'Secret Admirer', but Ginny reassured her that there would be much more from where that came from.

'Ginny…'

'No.'

'That's not very pleasant of you. You don't even know what I was going to ask' Hermione said sulkily, her eyes still fixed on the chocolate, wondering whether she should eat them or not. It was quite accustom for someone to send chocolates stuffed with love potion. After all, Ron had fell for that one before, thanks to Romilda Vane. She was not about to risk falling in love with some random Slytherin just for the sake of delicious chocolates. Then again, it was tempting, because if she did fall in love with her secret admirer, then she would know who it was.

Hermione took the note out of the box and tried to identify the handwriting. _It couldn't be Draco's? Or could it? _She looked at it for quite some time but she could not tell whose writing it was. She flipped it over and saw another note.

_PS : Don't worry love, I assure you that it's not poisoned or charmed with any sorts of Love Potion, I'm not that sort of person._

Hermione smiled. Her Secret Admirer could read her mind, he was such a gentleman. Has he been noticing her for the past few years, and know every detail of her? She blushed at the thought of that. _No._ She thought again. She couldn't let herself think of someone else that way, especially when Ron wasn't around. She should only be thinking of Ron. Ron. Ron. But suddenly in her mind a platinum-blonde crept into place. _Damnit,_ she thought. _Malfoy_.

'Ginny how about I make you a deal,'

'Oh no Hermione, what now.' Ginny's eyes widened. Hermione was very smart and if she wanted to make a deal it meant that she would get exactly what she want somehow through the deal, and Ginny had no say in it because she initially agreed to it.

'If I guess that person correctly, you have to admit, and no lying. Okay?'

Ginny shook her head no. She was unsure of who the Secret Admirer really was, and had only communicated with the person who passed her the gifts to be given to Hermione.

'Okay, how about I guess the person who has been passing you the gifts? It's probably someone who is just helping the real Secret Admirer, so why not?'

'Hermione, you're killing me. I'm dying to give you all the clues and letting you find out who Mr. Secret Admirer is just so I can kill my aching curiosity but it isn't going to work that way. The messenger said that it would take time but he will eventually reveal himself when the time is right.'

Hermione sighed. She didn't like to be kept in the dark of anything. She wanted to know, understand and be prepared for anything. That was why she spent so much time in the library reading, to ensure that she didn't miss out on anything. This new Secret Admirer situation was frustrating. Hermione had never had a Secret Admirer. Everyone who had ever liked her had admitted immediately, proposing to sweep her off her feet and amaze her. But Hermione was not as easily impressed as other girls were, or so they thought. All she wanted was a simple walk along the beach, holding hands and laughing. But the boys who fancied her wanted to prove that they were worthy of her love, doing stunts and tricks which were marvellous, but did not appeal to her. She wanted someone like Mr. Secret Admirer, presenting her with flowers and chocolates and simple poetry, simple yet amazing.

She took a chocolate and plopped it into her mouth. Dark chocolate with almonds inside, her favourite. She smiled and headed down to the library to study.

..

'What are you smiling for?' Draco peered over at Blaise, who looked unusually happy. Draco was alone in the common room reading The Daily Prophet when Blaise walked in.

'Nuh-Nothing. I just solved this thing.' Blaise wiped the dorky smile off his faced and lifted up his Rubik's Cube, which was colour coded now.

'Congratulations Zabini, you are now a Muggle genius!' Draco exclaimed sarcastically, his eyes not leaving the newspaper.

'Well it did _take_, a Muggle genius to solve this. I mean a Muggle-born genius.' Blaise said dreamily, pacing in circles in the common room.

'What?' Draco lifted his head up to look at Blaise, shocked.

'You know Granger? Yeah. I asked her how to solve it, and she did it. In about five minutes! Amazing, no?' Blaise let out a chuckle, and Draco felt a bit of anger rushing through his veins. He scrunched up his fists, crumpling the newspaper which he was holding. _Hold up Draco, what are you doing? _Draco thought to himself. It wasn't like him to get jealous. But why was he jealous?

'Since when do you talk to her, or any Gryffindor at all?' Draco asked, testing Blaise.

'I don't know mate, I just maybe thought, maybe a Muggle-born would be able to solve a Muggle creation.' Blaise reasoned, sounding very uncertain of his answer.

'But why her? Why that Mudblood?' Draco figured if he got back to insulting her he wouldn't feel the way he felt, which he would never admit, was jealousy.

'Shut it Malfoy, don't call her that. She's actually quite nice.' Defended Blaise, and he seemed hurt by Draco's rude remark.

'Oh so now you're defending her! What's gotten into you Zabini, Muggle creations turning you soft?'

'Malf- ugh. You're right, it's just. I don't know what's gotten over me.' And Blaise slumped into the couch, and sighed.

'Draco don't-'

'Sure, I won't tell anyone it's your time of the month again. Don't worry!' Draco smirked at Blaise, folded his newspaper and stood up to leave.

'Bloody ferret!' and Blaise chuckled threw his Rubik's Cube at him.

Draco tossed it back at him and left for a walk. _To the Astronomy tower perhaps? _He pondered. He figured that Hermione wouldn't be there, since she made full recovery thanks to him. But he still held on to a slim hope of her being there. It's not like he wanted to see her. It would be nice to see her there, though. Her gorgeous face and brown eyes, with that adorable worried expression which was constantly plastered on her face. _Perfect_. Draco smiled to himself, then suddenly stopped in his tracks.

_Bloody hell Draco, what's wrong with you. _He ran a hand through his hair, exhaling deeply. He reached the Astronomy Tower and as he half-expected, Hermione was there. Hermione was looking out to the Black Lake, not noticing Draco's presence. Her bushy hair was blown by the wind, but she didn't care, she was deep in thought. Draco cleared his throat, and Hermione turned around.

'Malfoy,' she nodded timidly, and kept her head down as she proceeded to the exit.

'What's the rush, Granger?' he asked, leaning against the wall.

'I just remembered that I had to be somewhere,' she replied hurriedly.

'Is that fear I sense?' he smirked.

'No, it's just the refusal of being slammed against the wall, again, by a certain ferret.' She glared at him with piercing eyes, and then continued walking.

_Damnit_, he thought. He had absolutely forgotten about the previous night. _What the hell? How could I forget? _He was puzzled by himself. What had he been thinking off the whole day? Oh yes. _Her. _He felt incredibly embarrassed, but he could see that she was feeling worse than him. He was not going to let her know that he felt embarrassed.

'Whatever you're trying to do Granger. I'll find out, and then I'm coming for you.' He warned, glaring back at her.

'What? What I'm trying to do? What are you trying to do Malfoy? First you comfort me then insult me? Then you snogged me, slammed me against the wall and left as if it was my fault you kissed me? You stay away from me, bloody ferret!' and Hermione shoved her way pass Draco and left him there.

Draco stood in the Astronomy Tower, stunned. Suddenly a smile creeped on his face. He never realised how incredibly sexy Hermione was when she was angry, especially when she was angry at him. It was strangely turning him on.

**(: hope you guys like this chapter! Loves x **


	6. Plans

Look Into My Eyes, And Tell Me You Love Me : Plans

'Professor Slughorn is sick today and you already know who I am. Today's lesson will require you students to work in, pairs.' Snape announced as he made his entry into the Potion's room and the whole class let out sighs and gasps. Pairs were never good news for the students in Snapes' class. He incidentally knew how to pair up two people who absolutely hate each other, even though they were in the same house.

'Silence. Now as requested by Professor McGonagall, she wishes to build inter-house unity amongst the students, and so today's pairing was completed, by her.' Some students let out sighs of relief. McGonagall's pairing could not be as bad as Snape's.

'Mr. Malfoy' Snape began. Fuck_. Fuck. Fuck. Pair me with some dumb Hufflepuff Please someone who's not from Gryffindor. Fuck._ Draco prayed in his head, but still keeping a straight face.

'And Ms. Granger,' _FUCK._ Draco slammed his hand against the table, trying to contain his anger from showing on his face. _Bloody hell, not Malfoy. Again. _Hermione sighed. It was hard enough that she couldn't keep him out of his head; now they had to spend an entire class together? Hermione's face turned to a shade of pink when she recalled the night they snogged in the hallway. His soft lips, the warmth of his body.

Snape continued with the list of all the students that would be working together and Hermione drifted away into a day dream.

'Granger,' Hermione jumped a bit in shock, she was so caught up of thinking about that night that she didn't realise Draco was already sitting next to her.

'Malfoy,' she acknowledged, pulling her books towards her side of the table and distancing herself away from him.

'Today you will be brewing the cure for severe burns. Turn to page 273, and begin.' Hermione flipped to the page and decided that she wasn't going to rely on Malfoy to help her with it. After all, Potions was one of his weakest subjects.

She began gathering the ingredients while Malfoy just sat there and watched. He had no intention of interrupting her, because the less verbal contact they had with each other, the better. He watched her as she put the ingredients into the cauldron and stirred, her face was so serious and concentrated and it wasn't long before Draco found himself staring at her dreamily. He rested his head against his hand and just stared at her.

'Ouch!' Hermione hissed in pain, then immediately grabbed a piece of cloth and held it to her hand. Draco snapped out of his day dream in a blink and went over to tend to Hermione. She had cut herself pretty badly on her palm and blood was oozing out of the gauge. She was moaning in pain and started to shiver. Draco instinctively took his cloak and put it over her, but Hermione was trembling and unable to stand on her own. Draco panicked. He didn't know what to do and Snape was not in class. He carried Hermione and rushed down to the Hospital Wing and lay her down on a cot.

'Mr. Malfoy, what brings you here?' Madam Pomfrey asked sweetly.

'It-It's It's Granger.' He managed to mutter out, in between pants and being on the verge of having a panic attack.

'She cut herself, and, and then, she started shivering, so I-I' Draco was still unable to catch his breath, but didn't care about him, he just wanted Hermione to be treated.

'Calm down child, take a nice deep breath and then you continue.' Madam Pomfrey placed a hand on Draco's back, who was currently bending over and placing his hands on his knees. Draco ignored the matron's instructions and was struggling to talk.

'I put a cloak over her, but then, then she started trembling. O-On the way here, she fainted. Is she going to be alright?' Draco was panting now, but he didn't care.

'Mr. Malfoy, breathe. Just breathe. I need you to think back, and tell me what she was doing when she cut her hand.' Madam Pomfrey set Draco down on a cot right next to where Hermione was. Draco squinted hard. He couldn't recall what she was cutting on the chop board at that moment. He let out a groan of anger and ran his hand through his hair. He just couldn't put his finger on what it was.

Suddenly the door burst open and Harry came rushing in with Ginny. _Great, Potter here to save the day, again. _He thought. He was feeling rather dizzy and didn't hear what Madam Pomfrey was discussing with Harry about. He felt a sharp sting on the back of his hand and then everything turned blurry, and then pitch black.

..

_And then I remember panting, panting. Someone carrying me and running. Everything is so blur, so blur. This person was, so strong. But getting weaker, and weaker. Tired maybe? And then soft surface, and more blur, and then, nothing._

'You see what happens when you pair, these two together, Minerva' _What?_

'But Severus, you must know this is all part of Professor Dumbledore's plan,' _Oh, McGonagall's talking to Snape._

'Yes, I am fully aware of that, but could we not have chosen another girl? Or even the use of Veritaserum would be easier,' _they're talking about, me and Malfoy? Veritaserum?_

'You know that Albus would never use such techniques, after all Malfoy is still a child,' Techniques? _What are they trying to do to Malfoy?_

'Has Miss Granger been informed of the plan then?' _What is this that they're talking about? What?_

'Most certainly not! Her knowledge of this might…'

_And then everything became blurry again._

'… Minerva, Amortentia.'

'… Safe, Severus'

'…For the sake of Mr. Weasley.'

'Wear off… Task completed.'

Hermione's eyes fluttered open, her vision still blurry. Her head was feeling pretty heavy but she realised that she wasn't in her Common Room. She was in the hospital ward. She could see Harry sleeping in the chair next to her, but as her vision became clearer she saw Draco fast asleep in the cot next to her. She tried to sit up but her body barely responded.

' 'Mione?' Hermione smiled. She recognized that voice, it was Harry.

'Hello Harry,' she replied with a warm smile, her voice softer than usual.

'Are you alright? Do you feel numb anywhere?' Harry looked at her with concern. He looked horrible, like he haven't slept in days.

'Yeah I'm fine Harry but I can't seem to sit up.'

'Come, let me help you. I guess your body hasn't woken up yet. After all you have been asleep for the past three days.'

'Three days?' Hermione's voice croaked as she strained it a bit.

'Yeah, we were in Potions class remember? Then you cut yourself on a knife which had Essence of venomous tentacula, and then Malfoy panicked and brought you here. Shocking isn't it? Malfoy. However much I hate that git, remind me to thank him when he gets up.'

'Did Malfoy get cut too?'

'Well, according to Madam Pomfrey he had a wound on him and your blood must have came in contact with his wound and the poison transferred that way. He passed out a while after he brought you here. Madam Pomfrey said he was on the brink of having a panic attack when he brought you in, he thought you were gonna die or something.'

Hermione peered over to Draco who was sleeping soundly on the cot next to hers. He risked his life to save her. She blushed at the thought of that_. Maybe he just felt responsible because I was his partner._ She was even more confused.

'Well I guess I'm never going to hear the end of him insulting my blood now.' Hermione sighed.

'On the bright side, you're alive Hermione. Who cares what he says, as long as you're all right nothing matters,' Harry placed his hand on hers and smiled. Harry was always the optimistic one, and she really missed him. They haven't been able to spend much time together since Ron was taken.

'Harry I missed you,' she extended her arms, and reached in for a hug.

'For the past three days, I believe I missed you more,' he hugged Hermione back. They only had each other now, without Ron, and they couldn't risk losing each other.

Suddenly they heard the door bang open, and in came Blaise, looking rather shocked. He walked over to Draco's cot but stopped to look at Hermione for a while.

'You all right, Granger?' he asked casually.

'Yes, I'm fine. I believe it's your mate that you should be more worried 'bout.' She looked over to Draco who was stirred slightly. He sat up and stretched, flexing his abs and his toned body. _Damn,_ Hermione thought, her eyes not leaving his body. He ran a hand through his platinum-blonde hair, and his silver eyes turned to look at Hermione.

'You're clumsy, Granger.' He smirked at her, staring deep into her brown eyes.

'Well thank goodness you were there, then. Thank you.' She let out a slight smile, nodding at him as a sign of appreciation. Hermione blushed. _Three days of being asleep and the first person he talks to is me? And he didn't yell at me for getting him poisoned, he decided to tease me!_

'Hermione are you okay? Do you feel warm? You look pretty flushed.' Harry asked considerately. Hermione merely smiled.

'I'm fine Harry, for now at least. How about you? When's the last time you got decent sleep?' Harry scratched his head.

'To be honest I don't know 'Mione, I've been having nightmares lately, and I just don't know what to do about it.' Harry sighed. It had been tough for him, and it seemed as if his Occlumency wasn't improving. He stood up and went to Draco's cot, extending a hand.

'Thank you, Malfoy.' Draco looked up at him and decided not to create a fuss since he recently recovered, and took his hand to shake.

'You owe me one Potter,'

'Sure.' And then Harry bid Hermione goodbye and told her that he was going to try to catch up on his sleep. Hermione understood him and let him go. Blaise stood there for a while, not knowing what to do, then decided to leave; smiling at Hermione before he left.

'Malfoy?'

'Granger.'

'Are you going to start insulting me about my blood or something when we're out of here?'

'Maybe, maybe not. We'll see.'

'Well, before you decide, I'm very sorry for everything. I owe you one.' Hermione tried to express herself as sincerely as possible. Malfoy did save her life, and her parents always taught her to be grateful to others. Draco smirked.

'Sure you do.' He replied.

The Hospital Wing was surprisingly empty and there were only the two of them the entire day. Madam Pomfrey instructed that they could only leave the next day, and so they were stuck with each other. They started talking about all sorts of things, like Draco's Quidditch experiences, Hermione's encounters with several strange boys she had met during the summer; which cracked Draco up just by thinking about it. Somehow they seemed to complement each other, by being total opposites. Although they would have a friendly argue once in a while during their conversations, they never failed to make one another laugh. It was strange for either of them to act that way, but they're probably going to blame it on the Pumpkin Juice once they're recovered.

'Malfoy?'

'Yes, Granger.'

'Did you hear anything about McGonagall and Snape talking some time during the night?'

'No, nothing at all. Well I guess I can't hear anything at all when I sleep. It's been proven throughout the years. I slept through fire, fights and even explosions so you can't rely on me to hear anything at night.'

Hermione giggled. 'Explosions? What happened?'

'Well if I did know I would be contradicting myself by saying that I can't hear anything when I'm sleeping now would I? All I knew when I woke up was that there was this massive crater in front of my house. My mother was afraid that I became deaf from the blast but refused to tell me what happened.' He explained.

'Maybe the blast _made_ you deaf at night,' Hermione laughed.

'Well it should have made me completely deaf, that way I don't need to hear _you_ talk all day,' he joked.

'Hey! Come on, you're speaking as if I'm unbearable!' Hermione lifted the pillow from below her head and threw it at Draco.

'Why thank you Granger, now I have two pillows,' Draco took the pillow and hugged it.

'You _will_ return it to me.' Hermione sat up with her arms crossed, staring at Draco.

'Yeah I will Granger, sure.' He chuckled and turned away from Hermione. Hermione lay back on her hands and closed her eyes. She thought about the conversation between McGonagall and Snape. Was it a dream? This had to be somehow related to Dumbledore's plan for Malfoy. _Amortentia?_ She looked over to Draco. _Could it be?_

She turned her back against Draco and sighed. She closed her eyes to rest.

'Granger?' Draco called out, but there was no response.

**I only have two words for this chapter , Amortentia & Review. **

**Those who fail to review will be mysteriously cut by a knife with essence of venomous tentacula and will NOT be saved by Draco Malfoy. HAHA jk but it means a lot to me when you tell me what you think (; **  
><strong>Loves x <strong>


	7. Confused

Look Into My Eyes, And Tell Me You Love Me : Confused

'_What are you so upset about 'Mione? It's not like you're my mum or something!'_

'_I-I'm hardly upset Ronald. It's just that, that,'_

'_That what Hermione? I reckon you're just jealous of me.'_

'_Jealous?'_

'_Yeah. I bet you're just jealous that Lavender is absolutely in love with me.'_

'_In love with you? It's more like a terrible obsession!'_

'_Well that's what happens when you're so in love, you get obsessed. How about you 'Mione? McLaggen not good enough for you? In your opinion no one's good enough for you, so don't go raining on other people's parade when you destroy your own!'_

'_I just thought that you wouldn't be so shallow in choosing girls like, her.'_

'_Bloody hell Hermione! Let me break this down to you. Stay. Out. Of. My. Personal. Life.'_

..

_To: The lovely Hermione Granger. _

_Get well soon. Although you look beautiful even though you're ill it pains me to see you in a weak state._

_Ps: You look gorgeous when you're well._

_Love, Your Secret Admirer._

Hermione opened her eyes to a brown fluffy teddy bear sitting on the table next to her. It was clasping a fluffy red heart between its hands. On the heart it wrote the message in golden thread, and then thread undid itself and turned into another message.

_Property of Hermione Granger, followed by a heart._

Hermione smiled, realising that her head is rested on a pillow again, then turned to look at the cot next to her. Draco wasn't there anymore. He left. There was something about the absence of Draco which created a hole in her heart. Just yesterday she felt complete again, somehow. She was beginning to doubt the sincerity of Draco's actions, but somehow the more she doubted him, the more it all started to make sense.

If Dumbledore instructed McGonagall to spike his drink with Amortentia, Draco would fall madly in love with Hermione and send her gifts. All she would have to do was to ask him anything about Ron and he would answer. After all, Dumbledore did tell her to 'keep her ears open and her speech keen on extracting information from Mr. Malfoy'.

Finally, everything started to fall into place, but when she figured it out, she felt devastated. She really did want to get Ron back, Ron was her best friend after all. Besides the fact that the night before he was taken she had gotten into a fight with him. She sighed. Now that she was mentally sure of the current situation, she was emotionally shaken. Deep inside her heart she wanted Malfoy to be her friend, for real, and not because of some love potion. She never laughed as loud as she did with Draco the previous night, and had never met anyone who was just as charming as he was. She assumed that Dumbledore wanted her to simply just to use this emotional advantage to take what she needed from him. It was pretty good idea since it was just Malfoy, and she figured that she could just use him and then leave without another word. But somewhere deep inside Hermione her conscience triggered, telling her that it was absolutely inhumane to just use Malfoy like that, even if he were just a bloody ferret that meant nothing to her. But did Draco really mean nothing to her? What is this newfound feeling she had fabricated towards the pureblood?

_Ron. Draco. Ron. Draco. Ron. Draco. Draco. Draco. Damn._

'You're not trying wandless magic right after you recover now aren't you, Granger?' Hermione looked up. Blaise was standing in front of her with a bouquet of flowers.

Hermione blushed a little. 'No I was just thinking,'

'I hope that's not how you think all the time, because you look as if your head is going to blow.' Blaise chuckled.

'Why thank you Zabini. The first thing I get to hear after I my recent recovery was to be informed that my head was going to explode,' Hermione said jokingly, letting out a little laugh.

'Ha-ha. How about I rephrase my sentence. You look like you made a full recovery, Miss Granger,'

'Thank you Healer Zabini. I feel much better, too!' Hermione replied mockingly. She had always been the wittiest girl in school, but few seemed to realise that.

Blaise pretended to look hurt, but continued anyway, 'Well, these are actually for you.' Zabini held the flowers out to her, which she accepted graciously.

'Did you send them? Or are you helping someone else?' she looked up at Blaise.

'I'm not allowed to tell you who, but I don't think you would believe me even if I did tell you.'

'Try me.' She replied quickly, challenging Blaise.

'I rather not. Good day, Granger.' And Blaise left without another word.

_Beautiful flowers for the beautiful lady_. The note said.

Hermione got herself out of the cot, taking along her new gifts with her, cleaned up and went to the Great Hall. Ginny wasn't there, which was pretty odd because Ginny would always be there waiting for her. Then again, she was usually the one passing the gifts from the Secret Admirer to her. Instead, Blaise delivered the gift. A part of Hermione was even more convinced that the Secret Admirer was Malfoy, whether she liked it or not.

'Harry, have you seen Ginny?' Hermione asked, sitting down opposite Harry who was eating his food rather quickly.

'Hello Hermione. Ginny, well Ginny was called home a few days ago, actually, when you were still unconscious.' He replied, after swallowing his food.

'Called home? Why? Students are rarely allowed to return home during the school term.' Hermione's voice sounded anxious. A million things could be possible, all of which including Ron.

'It's a just the beginning of the school term after all, and she got called home because George is seriously injured.' Harry stopped eating, sadness starting to form in his voice.

'Merlin, Harry what happened to him?' Hermione sat upright, hands on the table, leaning into Harry.

'He went down to Knockturn Alley and started trying to blast some Death Eaters, intended to take one of them as hostage to trade 'em for Ron.' Hermione let out a soft cry, George's reckless plans rarely worked, especially when he was alone.

'So what happened? He's alive right? Oh my goodness Harry please tell me he's okay!' Hermione's eyes started to water, she loved the entire Weasley family, and could not imagine how their family could cope with another loss.

'Yes, he's alive, but his condition is critical. He stunned a few of the Death Eaters but was hit by multiple curses at once by Yaxley, who luckily didn't have the time to finish him off. Lupin and Tonks were around the area when they heard the commotion, and recognized his voice. They immediately went to aid George, but Yaxley Disapparated before they could get to him. On the other hand, they now have two Death Eaters under the custody of the Order. Ginny's been asked to go back to see George. The healers say that he's pretty weak, but if he has the strength to pull through, he will.' Harry looked at his watch and stood up.

'I'll tell you more later, Hermione. I'm so close to mastering Occlumency, all I have to do is practice after this. Do me a favour 'Mione?'

'Sure.'

'Don't worry too much. I'll meet you in the Room of Requirement. Find Neville and the others, we have to reform Dumbledore's Army, we have to get something done.' And Harry left.

Hermione sat in silence as she gulped down her food. She was devastated from hearing about George. He risked his life to try to get Ron back. Harry's practicing day and night to master Occlumency to fight the Dark Lord, and what was she doing? Crying her eyes out and being weak. _No,_ she told herself. _Not anymore._ She was going to build back Dumbledore's Army to be able to defend themselves from the Death Eaters. Next, Ron. She thought about it for a period of time. She couldn't just go around blasting Death Eaters, she was not as strong as the others physically, but she had an edge. She was very intelligent. _If Dumbledore created this plan, then it's sure to work; all I have to do is make it happen, then I can get Ron back._ She looked over to a pale skinned boy with platinum blonde hair at the Slytherin table.

_And you're going to help me do so._

**Sorry, this chapter is a bit short, but hope whoever who's reading this enjoys this chapter (:  
>Loves x <strong>


	8. Notes

Look Into My Eyes, And Tell Me You Love Me : Notes

'Good morning students, turn to page 312 and we will begin the lesson of the day,' McGonagall announced, and Hermione turned open her book.

'ANIMAGUS' the title read. Hermione sighed. She read the chapter several times because she was so intrigued by how McGonagall could transform into a cat, and Sirius as Padfoot. She scribbled a note on a piece of parchment and passed it to Neville.

_Room of Requirement, tomorrow.  
>Gather D.A.<br>-H.G_

Neville took the note and turned to look at Hermione. He could see that she was serious about it.

_Not many of us left; scared they'd disappear like Ron.  
>Harry gone, no leader.<br>-Nev_

Hermione looked at it and sighed. Many of the young Dumbledore's Army members were frightened when Ron was taken and decided to stay out of danger. They don't understand that there would be a time where they would be needed to defend themselves because Hogwarts is in constant danger. One day the barriers of their school would be penetrated, and if they are defenceless at that time, then it was too late.

_Previous note was instructed by Harry.  
>Need to show others how important it is to protect ourselves, help me.<br>-H.G_

'Mr. Malfoy!' Professor McGonagall slammed her book against the table. She crossed her arms as she watched Draco retract his hands. He hastily blew out smoke from the hair of Susan Bones, and put his wand down as fast as he could, to avoid attracting attention of any other student. The playful Slytherin was slowly setting fire to the poor Hufflepuff's hair, which was a dare from his best mate Blaise. Draco slumped into his seat and put his head low to avoid the stares of his fellow classmates, as McGonagall crossed her arms and simply shot a disappointing look at Malfoy. She shook her head slowly and took a moment to observe his terrible actions, before opening her mouth to speak again.

'I am disappointed to see such behaviour from you. Ten points from Slytherin. Now, if you would be too kind to come out of that corner you are currently sitting in and sit in the middle, to prevent further mischief.' McGonagall pointed to the empty seat next to Hermione, which was meant for Ron. Harry was not in class, as usual. Professor Dumbledore had let him skip subjects which he was particularly good at to concentrate on mastering Occlumency. Harry was not very happy with this arrangement of course, because he still had to sit through Arithmancy and Divination. Hermione tilted her head slightly to the empty seat on her right, which McGonagall had jabbed a finger into it, to indicate Malfoy to sit there. _Of course, it has to be him._ Hermione was slowly accepting the fact that she had to emotionally detach herself in order to execute Professor Dumbledore's plan, or at least that was what she thought her Headmasters plan was. _No hate, no love, just business_.

Draco reluctantly gathered his belongings; shooting angry glares to whichever classmate who dared to stare at him as he proudly strode over to the seat next to Hermione and he dropped his books on the table to express his discontent. It wasn't that Draco didn't want to sit next to Hermione. Hell, it had nothing to do with who he had to sit with. It was the fact that he got caught and was forced to move place which got to his nerves. He didn't like to be told what to do, especially if it's some old hag from Gryffindor house. He lost 10 points thanks to that wrinkled witch. But Granger thought that Draco didn't want to sit next to her, which made her felt like a disease which no one wanted to go close to. After Malfoy's public display of discontent the only thing which popped up in Hermione's mind was that she was the reason he was so angry at the moment.

Being self conscious, Granger tried to act normal with Malfoy next to her, but she had her mind on just asking him everything he knew about Ron. A while after he sat down, Neville replied her note, but on the way of passing it to her, Draco got hold of it. He unfolded the note and read it.

_Will try my best, see you there tomorrow, after breakfast.  
>-Nev<em>

Malfoy took his quill out and furiously cancelled out Neville's signature at the end of the note, and replaced it with 'Longbottom Loser', he then scrunched up the note into a ball releasing a tad bit of jealousy through his action, and then he slammed his hand down with the paper ball onto the space between him and Granger, shocking Hermione who was in deep thought about Malfoy not wanting to sit next to her. She peered over to see the note slightly flattened, and gasped when she realised that Draco read it already, but was slightly relieved when she saw that the note revealed nothing important. She flattened out the note and wrote on the other side of it.

_Would you mind your own business next time?  
>-H.G.<em>

She folded the paper carefully and placed it next to Draco, trying to convey that she was trying to act civil towards him. He smirked after he read it, and took a fresh piece of parchment to reply.

_I'll try.  
>Got yourself an admirer, Granger?<br>_

Hermione gritted her teeth, and exhaled deeply. _No hate, no love, just business._ She told herself repetitively, but that irritating git got to play the role as the playful one where she was stuck with the serious character. It was only wise to stay as professional as possible, with the least bit of emotion attached to every sentence which were meant for the grey-eyed ferret.

_Did I not tell you to mind your own business?  
>When I said next time, I meant it effective immediately.<br>-H.G._

With her eye contact not breaking from McGonagall's who was still explaining from the book, she slid the note over to Draco, which he read and replied immediately.

_I said I'll try, and you haven't answered my question yet.  
><em>

_No hate, no love, just business_. But as she read his name all the memories from the previous night came flowing back into her mind. Everything they talked about, his jokes and experiences, and his comments about her stories. She never thought he would be as charming as they said he would be. It all seemed like a dream, like it never actually happened. But it did. It did happen. Malfoy was absolutely nice to her, and it didn't make sense now because he acted as if he loathed sitting next to her. Her mind drifted to the conversations they had again, and she smiled to herself when she thought about the funny things he said to her. But then, all of a sudden in her mind, _Amortentia. _She snapped back to reality immediately like an expanded rubber band which has been let go of.

_Try harder, and maybe you should pay attention to class, you've already gotten caught once.  
>-H.G.<em>

Hermione herself tried to concentrate in class, since she was out to make Malfoy listen in class, but it wasn't long before she received a reply. Poor Hermione, however much she tried to keep everything serious between them, he was evidently not letting her do so. He was far too playful to be serious for no reason. It hadn't been a minute passed before Malfoy replied her.

_This from the girl who has been passing love notes to Longbottom.  
>I did that on purpose. How else will I get to sit next to you?<br>_

Hermione blushed when she read his reply. Luckily, her bushy hair managed to cover the side of her face and it was undetectable by Draco. _Merlin, why has he got to be so good at this? _It was hard for her to get anything her way, when he was always insisting in getting his own way, which ironically the exact opposite of what she wanted. _No hate, no love, just business. But if he wants to play, let's play._ The Muggle's had a saying, to fight fire with fire. _Let's play, Malfoy._

_Well I believe it's important that you learn this chapter, after all we all know you're going to turn into a ferret again sometime in the future. This could change your life, Malfoy!  
>Excuses, excuses.<br>-H.G._

She smiled at her note, making sure her sarcasm was obvious enough even when written down in words, then folded it and passed it to Draco. She suppressed her smile to make it as serious as possible. Hermione honestly couldn't wait for Draco's reply, if he could even think of a comeback for what she wrote, when all of a sudden,

'Draco Malfoy. Give that to me.' McGonagall stretched her hand out, and took the note from Malfoy.

_Shit, I'm screwed. But if I'm going down, I'm taking Granger with me, after all she started it,_ he thought with his head down. It must've been his unlucky day, twice in one class he got caught for mischief. That rarely happened, in fact he never happened until today. Bloody McGonagall suddenly had an eye for catching Malfoy, and it seemed like she liked doing so.

McGonagall read Malfoy's note, and then flipped it around to see Hermione's writing scribbled on the other side of the parchment. Hermione had been hoping that she didn't flip it around, but she did. Hermione sighed. She had never been caught for not paying attention in class before. _Stupid Malfoy,_ she uttered.

McGonagall sighed in disappointment. 'Miss Granger, Mr. Malfoy. Please report here tomorrow after breakfast for further information about your detentions. Your attendance will be strictly recommended.' She said briefly, not wanting to look twice at Hermione, which was her current student. She felt more disappointed in Granger than she did in Draco because she never thought that her top student would be up to no good.

Hermione gasped. 'Tomorrow after breakfast? Professor! But'

'No but's Miss. Granger. Be here at the allocated time or the consequences will be more severe than it already is.' The older which cut her off and replied hastily. She didn't want to hear Hermione's reasoning because she feared she would change her mind about it and she would seem biased in front of the rest of her students.

Hermione slumped into her chair and looked over at Neville. Neville nodded at her, acknowledging the fact that their plan must change due to the current circumstances. She then turned to Malfoy, who had his fists balled up so tight his knuckles were turning white and his nails must've probably cut through his skin already. She rolled her eyes at him and cursed him under her breath. Nevertheless she managed to keep calm and composed, telling herself that what is done is done. She had change plans with Neville though.

The bell rang and class was dismissed, Hermione gathered her books quickly and was about to walk over to Neville, when Draco blocked the way. He almost jumped at her as he only stood up to block the path when he saw her walking in Neville's direction, and being the playful bugger he is, he was in to irritate Hermione just to see that look on her face when she was agitated. The moment Hermione found herself meeting an obstacle with a Slytherin badge and green tie, she didn't bother to look up to see who it was. She simply held her books closer to her chest and turned away. She was very, very angry at Draco for getting her into trouble. Not just because she had to change plans with Neville about Dumbledore's Army tomorrow, but also she had disappointed her favourite teacher, Professor McGonagall.

'Why so glum, Granger? Ruined your date?' Draco smirked.

_But if he wants to play, let's play, _she reminded herself. She had to act like a Malfoy to get to a Malfoy, and not let Malfoy get to her.

'You must be so happy that you were the cause of that, aren't you? After all, I could smell your jealousy from the moment you read my note.' Hermione turned around and said proudly, looking up into Draco's grey eyes with poise and composure. If she were going to get what she wanted, she had to be the one in control, but Draco had many years of practice, and it was hard to overthrow him. But she tried, and she will be victorious when Draco Malfoy has finally had his tongue tied with nothing to say. Sadly for her, he was fast and slick when it came to words, and most importantly, unpredictable.

'So, what if I _am _jealous of Longbottom?' and at that moment Hermione knew that she had failed, through the obvious blush which were shown on her reddened cheeks which marked her actions as, a _fucking backfire_, and she was speechless. But you know what they say,

_If you play with fire you'll get burnt._

**(: heh, from now on the chapter will be a tad bit longer than usual, just over 2,000 words per chapter, [it's considered long for me so heh B)] hope you guys still enjoy reading !****  
>Loves x <strong>


	9. Charming

Look Into My Eyes, And Tell Me You Love Me: Charming

Hermione opened her eyes and groaned. She was not looking forward to spending detention with Malfoy, but it was not like she had a choice. _Bloody ferret, _she muttered. As expected, she didn't receive any gift from Mr. Secret Admirer because Ginny wasn't here to pass it to her. She's partially expecting Blaise to deliver them to her, and maybe he can tell her who it really is, just to test her theory, but when she got to the Great Hall, neither Malfoy or Zabini was to be seen. She bit her lip, thinking Malfoy was probably going to bail detention.

She finished breakfast early, and reluctantly proceeded to the Transfiguration Room, to start the dreaded detention. To her surprise when she reached the Transfiguration Room her gift was already there waiting for her.

_Glad to see you well, I guess my wish did come true.  
>Here is something for your wishes.<br>Be well.  
>Love, Your Secret Admirer.<em>

She opened the box to see it filled neatly with paper stars. She smiled. Mr. Secret Admirer must have been doing some research about Muggle customs.

'Longbottom just can't get over you now can he?' Malfoy exclaimed, leaning against the door with his hands crossed. Yes, that was how she remembered Malfoy from yesterday, and she couldn't tell whether he was jealous or out to annoy her until she would have to hex herself. She bit her lip and fought the urge to throw something hard at his face.

'Like I said, mind your own business,' she quickly closed the box and put it into her bag. _Malfoy's a good actor isn't he. Pretending that he's not the Secret Admirer. Then again, what if he really isn't Mr. Secret Admirer? _If Draco wasn't the Secret Admirer, everything didn't make sense anymore.

'It's good to see that you are all here early, and now we shall start,' McGonagall announced as soon as she was at the doorway.

'Follow me,' she motioned, and brought them to a store room at the back of the Transfiguration classroom. It was a small dusty room filled with bottles and books on shelves. It almost looked like Snape's Potion Store, but it was way dirtier and some items were too unusual to be bottles.

'You both will clean this room, which you can do with magic, but I must warn you, some bottles are far too fragile to be handled with magic. On every item in this store room is a label. You will rearrange all the items according to alphabetical order on these shelves. Please handle these items with care, you may start now. I will be back in three hours time.' and with that McGonagall left the room.

Hermione poked her head into the store room, it was terribly dusty and there was not much place to stand either. She wondered how many decades has it been since anyone had used any of the apparatus in there. It looked more of an ancient chamber than a store room, with most items covered in thick layers of dust.

'Right, Malfoy. You can pass me the items from on top of the shelves, and when we get everything out, you can dust the shelves while I wipe the bottles and others. After that I'll pass you the items in order for you to place back on the shelves. Easy enough?'

'Yes, as long as you do everything you just said, it'll be fine.' Draco chuckled and then lifted himself to sit on McGonagall's table and put his behind him for support. His muscles were straining against his school shirt, and he wore his trademark smirk as he replied Hermione.

Hermione exhaled sharply and gritted her teeth. She was not about to let Malfoy ruin her morning, and he was going to do the work whether he liked it or not. She still couldn't get over the fact that she blushed right in front of him yesterday, and she was not going to be embarrassed in his presence anymore. She took out her wand from her robes and went right up to Draco and poked it into his cheek. She grabbed him by his collar, almost choking him and pulled him towards her.

'How about I hex you to the next century, will it be fine?' she stared into his eyes with eyes like daggers. She was angry and she could feel her blood boiling in fury as she stabbed Draco with her death glare, the anger in her eyes enough to melt his silver eyes.

'I know you look pretty fine now, angry Granger is pretty hot actually.' he smirked, trying not to suffocate with Hermione having a death grip on his collar. She slapped him right across his face and pushed him down by his collar. _No hate, no love, just business_, she reminded herself as she was trying to cool down, and fight the blush which was emerging on her cheeks.

Draco stood up to adjust his uniform, and then he rolled up his sleeves and walked towards the store room.

'Fierce Granger, not bad. Come on let's start.' He waved his wand and a layer of dust was lifted from the store room. He seemed pretty disappointed that he couldn't get everything done in one flick of the wand, and furrowed his eyebrows as he tried again.

'What happened to me doing all the work by myself? Is the great Draco Malfoy afraid of being hexed?' she said bitterly with her arms crossed, staring at Draco.

'I was joking, Granger; figured that if you let me off the hook I wouldn't need to do it at all. Besides, it's fun to see you overreact.' Draco replied, lifting several bottles at once with magic to pass them to Hermione.

'You're an insufferable git, ferret,' Hermione rolled her eyes at Draco as she placed the bottles on the table.

'But thank you,' she looked over to Draco, who stopped in his tracks, looking confused.

'For giving me a reason to hit you again. You can't say you don't deserve it,' she smirked playfully at Draco. Draco shook his head and continued passing bottles and other items to Hermione. He had used his trademark smirk, against him. What are the bloody odds of that ever happening with Granger? Where did the sudden burst of confidence come from? He found himself strangely aroused by this new Granger. There was something about confidence from a lady which was sexy. No. He brushed that thought away. Granger was anything but sexy, _unless she's pissed at you,_ a voice in his head told him. _No fucking no_, he told himself sternly, and decided to have some fun in getting Granger to overreact again to avoid think about sexual appeal.

'Hey Granger!' Draco suddenly called out, he levitating a very fragile looking bottle and threatening to drop by dipping it low and then bringing it up again. He wiggled his eyebrows at Hermione.

'Malfoy' she said in a calm and slow voice. Her hands held out to try to retrieve the bottle from mid air.

'Put. The. Bottle. Down.' But every time he tried to get closer to him, he threatened to drop it more, and backed away from her.

'You didn't say the magic word,' he replied in a playful sing-song voice. He found it very entertaining to see Hermione's worried expression. Her eyes were wide and she looked like she was going to get a heart attack every time he lowered the bottle. He chuckled.

'Magic word huh, Immobulus!' she waved her wand and Draco and the bottle stopped, Draco couldn't move a muscle and the bottle was suspended in mid air. Hermione proceeded to take the bottle and put it on the table. As soon as the bottle was on the table safely she turned to Draco, who was paralyzed.

'Granger let me go,' he mumbled in strain, unable to move his mouth. Hermione started laughing, she could see in his eyes that he was obviously annoyed but his face was stuck in his previously amused expression.

'You didn't say the magic word!' she imitated Draco's sing-song tone of voice and clasped her hands together. She exhaled in relief as she put her hands on her hips and observed Draco for a while longer. If only she had a camera with her right now, she could snap a picture and show Harry later. He would've loved seeing the ferret like that.

'I'm going to let you go now-', Draco's eyes widened in happiness.

'But!' she put her index finger up

'You must promise not to play around with anything in this room, and you must be serious about finishing this without any more problems.' Draco struggled to nod his head but he mouthed yes.

'You promise?'

'I promise' He muttered. With another wave of a wand Draco could move again. He stretched his limbs and took a deep breath. After that they got back to work, Draco working from inside the store room and Hermione outside. Malfoy stole some glances at Hermione as she was busy reading labels and arranging bottles. He caught sight of Granger's legs now that she put her cloak away because it was far too warm to wear one at eleven on a sunny Saturday morning.

_Damn, she's so sexy. I wonder how she's like under those clothes. Even more of her soft skin, and I can only imagine what her breasts look like, and that ass._

'Say Granger can you help me get that bottle over there?' Draco pointed to a bottle which was at the edge of a table away from Hermione. Hermione figured she was just going to lean over the table in front of her to get it. She bent over, giving Draco a perfect view of the shape of her behind as it stuck out for him to see.

_Shit. Wrong move._ Draco felt himself hardening but he couldn't seem to stop looking at Hermione's behind. He bit his tongue and turned away the minute she was trying to get up.

'Here you go Malfoy,' she handed over the bottle to him and continued arranging the bottles. Draco took the bottle and simply placed it on an empty shelf to avoid suspicion from Hermione. His heart was beating faster and faster as blood rushed to his hardening erection. He bit his tongue. _Slugs, Father, Weasel. Slugs, Father, Weasel._ Hermione accidentally knocked her hip against the side of the table and let out a slight moan of pain.

_Oh fuck me, I give up._

'Granger?' he turned and started to walk towards her.

The moment Hermione turned Draco put her hands around her waist and leaned in to kiss her. _No,_ her head told her. _No,_ her heart said. But it seems like her body had taken control. As soon as Draco slipped her tongue into her mouth, she pressed hers into his and began massaging it. Lust took over Draco as he started tracing her jaw line and started to kiss down her neck.

'Mal-Malfoy. St-Stop.' She uttered out in between moans. He made her skin tingle as he planted soft kisses on her collarbone.

'No, you don't want me to stop, do you? Go on, go fierce on me like you did just now. Force me to stop.' He growled into her neck, it was probably the sexiest sound she ever heard. He traced the back of her neck, up to her earlobe and whispered into in. Chills shivered down her spine as she gasped for air.

'You promised, not, not to play with any-anything in this room' she forced herself to say. Her head was cloudy because she was so lost in his kisses, the way he touched her. _No hate, no love, just business._ But wasn't this business?

'But you're not a thing are you, you're a person.' He whispered into her ear as he tugged on her robes.

'Wait. Why are you doing this?' she asked, breathing very heavily.

'I want you, Granger. I want you bad.'

_No hate, no love, just sex? NO. _With all her might she pushed Draco away from her, who stumbled a bit as he took a few steps backwards. He stared at her in shock and disbelief of what he had just tried to do, and retreated back into the store room and continued his work. Hermione was blushing and in complete shock of what just had happened, too. She straightened out her clothing and let out her a sigh. How was she going to ever talk to Malfoy now. He thought that he was going to have her this time. No restrictions, no obstacles, just him on top of her, no questions asked. Heck, she thought that she was going to go the whole way too, but she stopped herself. A million questions flooded her head instantly. Why the hell did she push Malfoy away when it was almost too obvious that she wanted him. Betrayal. That was the only thing she could think about. She would betray Ron if she were to shag Malfoy. Would she betray Ron? He was off with Lavender anyway. So why did she feel so guilty? Every statement she made after that was followed by another thought questioning her statement. Ron is with Lavender, so it's none of his business who she gets to sleep with. Or was it?

Just that moment she wanted to charge out of the room and leave everything, maybe just disappear from the face of the earth. She couldn't handle any more of it. She needed someone, if not Ron to come back, then someone there for her to cry her eyes in. Her back against the wall, she slumped down onto the floor and curled up into a ball, her mind so boggled and messed up, full of thoughts of Ron and Malfoy and kissing and Malfoy being nice to her and Ron being mean to her while her head still cloudy about the kiss. She was scared and confused and she screwed her eyes shut and hoped that everything will be back to normal, and not complicating because it was hurting her brain that she had to think about it. Tears streamed down her face in defeat as she wanted to give up and admit that she had no bloody clue what to do and what to think. She didn't give a two shits that Malfoy was seeing her like this, vulnerable. He had seen her like this before and this should not be a surprise to him.

Poor Draco was at the side watching Hermione, not knowing what to think either. Only seconds ago he was ready to pound her until the end of the day, but now it all seemed too emotional, with everything happening so fast. He didn't understand why she was crying, and most importantly why he was trying to figure her out. He didn't give a fuck about Granger before this, and this new emotion, it was just hard for him to comprehend. He was never good with emotions, and preferred to shut them out. The sound of her weak sobs drilled a hole in Draco, and somewhere in his system he found a soft spot for Hermione Granger. He didn't want to touch her to avoid being shoved away again. It wasn't painful, but the idea of rejection was, so he finished their task as quickly as he could, then he sat down next to Hermione.

'You're quite messed up huh, Granger,' he meant it in a joking way, and for Hermione to feel that he was absolutely ridiculous to ease the tension. He didn't know how to cheer her up. He didn't want to try, because he didn't care. He didn't care. He repetitively told himself that he didn't give a fuck, but there he was, sitting next to her, and not acting as if he didn't care, with his insides questioning why he was still there if he really didn't care. Malfoy was expecting Hermione to run out of the classroom, but all she did was lean her head on his shoulder, her tears wetting the fabric of his sleeve. Being so completely lost and aching for the need of someone else to stay with her so she didn't feel completely alone, Hermione latched on to Draco, all her defences were down, and she was vulnerable enough for Draco to hit her where it hurts most, but a part of him didn't want to see her break into pieces. A part of him was growing some sort of feelings for, Salazar forbid, Hermione Granger.

**No sex, yet... ;) heh, review!  
><strong>**I'm going overseas on Sunday so I won't be able to update the whole of next week D: just telling you guys first :/**

****(: hope you guys enjoy!****

**Love love lovess x **


	10. Strength

Look Me In The Eyes, And Tell Me You Love Me: Strength

After a while Hermione stood up, murmuring a soft thank you to Draco. She was surprised when she saw that he had done all the work already and she turned down to look at him. He was staring up at her, his eyes judging her every move. The tender look had left his eyes and he was back to icy-cold Malfoy. He had nothing left to say to Hermione. He felt that he wasn't the one which had to justify his actions, although he felt pretty messed up himself. If she tried to use his actions against him, he would use her sudden break down back at her. The silence was deafening as Hermione fumbled to think of something to say.

In her head she was almost begging Draco to scold her, shout at her or lunge to kiss her again. Her eyes were clawing at him wanting some kind of reaction. Just do something, anything. Anything but sit there and pierce her with his eyes, expecting her to make up for whatever the fuck that she was trying to pull off just now. Nothing. Her mind was so clotted up with all the thoughts and the confusion and all she wanted was him to say something which made her feel alright.

'Say something,' she plead. She couldn't think of any other way to make him speak and if the awkwardness stopped once he had spoken, it would have been worth it.

'I have nothing to say to you, Granger.' He replied coldly. She could almost imagine the shattered state that his pride has been in. He just got pushed away from having sex, and then tried to comfort the girl which he had just rejected by, only to be asked by her to start the conversation again. The both of them were in such awkward positions, neither of them intending to mend the situation, knowing that the more they spoke about it the more dented their pride would be. Lucky for them, Professor McGonagall walked in at that very moment to check on them again.

'I can see that you two did a marvellous job here.' The elderly witch clasped her hands together, marvelling how different the store room looked now. She turned to the two of them, still absorbed in their discomfort of being with each other, and thanked them for their work, hoping that they will not repeat their fault. She left after that, neither of them bothered to ask her why she had to constantly be away from her own classroom, although they were curious about it; and so Granger and Malfoy were back to where they were. Each had hoped that McGonagall would call the other to run some other task, but no. Their professor just left them there to tend to each other. Hermione decided to stop it right now before his piercing eyes managed to bring out every bit of embarrassment she felt, and she proceeded to reach her bag which was on McGonagall's table. Draco stood up, brushing off his clothes and then he blocked her exit from the classroom.

'You're not walking away from this Granger. Explain,' Draco spat as Hermione collected her bag, and she tried to stand away from Draco, refusing to meet his frozen stare.

'I have no reason to explain anything to you,' she replied as calmly as she could. She was on the brink of trembling and breaking into tears again, and this time, Malfoy was not going to be all cozy with her. The embarrassment was piling up on her above the confusion and sorrow, like weights upon her shoulder, mentally forcing herself to shut down as she struggled to make the best out of everything.

'Yes you fucking do, you have every reason to. Unless you're explaining, none of us are leaving here,' he said forcefully, slightly intimidating Hermione with the usage of profanity, but his hand was already at the pocket which had his wand, ready to pull it out if she did anything alarming. Hermione sighed. She really wasn't going to run away from this one. What happened to the nice Draco Malfoy which she had spent that day in the Hospital Wing with? His anger was probably from the fact that his pride had been degraded by his actions, and that he wanted her to feel even more embarrassed than she already was just to make himself feel better.

'What do you want me to explain, Malfoy?' she dropped her head low, as she leaned over McGonagall's table, back facing Draco. Although she couldn't see him looking at her, she still felt his stare bore through her back, like he was crucifying her with his eyes.

'Why the fuck did you push me away?' his words were painful even as he had spoken it. It was something which he had never experienced before, a girl pushing him away. Not this Slytherin Sex God.

'Because it's wrong, and you know it too.' She turned around to face him now, suddenly gaining courage to have a comeback for every insult that he could possibly shoot at her.

'I'm Draco Malfoy, it's not wrong if it feels good, and you have to admit that it felt good, Granger,' he smirked at her. With that trademark smirk; all the tension faded away quicker than ice cream could melt under the scorching sun, and he began to fill himself with his pride and poise, feeling as if he were in control again. It was like the connection between them had reignited and all the embarrassment faded away, for him at least. Hermione started blushing and turned away from him.

'If we're done here I'd like to go now, Malfoy. I'm late for something important.' She lowered her head as she walked towards him, her eyes not steering far from his.

'Oh right, that bloody date with Longbottom,' he rolled his eyes in disgust. He stepped aside and let Granger go, then kicking one of the tables hard to release his fury. He would never admit it but what he felt was jealousy. How could a geek like Neville get Hermione to willingly go to him when he himself had to try to seduce her just to get her to be nice to him. 'You can't keep running away from this, Granger, and you call yourself a bloody Gryffindor,' he sneered as she left.

..

Hermione walked off hurriedly to the Room of Requirement. She had reached an agreement with Neville that they would meet after her detention. When she finally got to the Room of Requirement, she was pleased to see that there were many students already there, and all of them were gathered to listen to someone speak. It was Harry.

'I don't expect any of you to want to join again, but I really hope you do. I have to admit that this school is probably not safe because of me, and so I wish to try to do my best to make sure that all of you are capable of protecting yourselves. It's my fault that Ron is gone-' Harry's voice was breaking. He has not had a chance to talk about Ron because he had been too busy. All this time buried deep inside his heart, he still blames himself. He blames himself for ever letting Ron and the others follow him to the Department of Mysteries and since then he had been living in remorse of Ron's disappearance. He felt as if he lost another one of his loved ones, again. No one could ever feel the pain that Harry felt, of having every one he loved taken away from him one by one, with no chance of return. Harry was so strong yet he felt as if he was going to break down very soon. Hermione could not bear to see Harry this way, his best friend on the brink of breaking down in front of everyone else. He might be the chose one, but he was still a boy, and all of a sudden it was too much for him to handle alone, although he knew that he had to do this all alone. Every time he had someone help him, well, something bad happened. Hermione bit her lip and proceeded to the front to continue his speech, feeling slightly nervous with all the pairs of eyes looking at her.

'What Harry is trying to say, is that he cares very much for everyone here, and he feels as if it's his duty to protect all of you, by that meaning by teaching us how to protect ourselves because at the end of the day there will only be one Harry, and that one Harry has to fight You-Know-Who, which is again, with the intention to protect us. They say Hogwarts is the safest place to be but look at what has happened over the years. From Basilisk attacks to a so-called 'serial killer' in the school, to the death of one of our very own! Right under the noses of our teachers and other adults. If we can't protect ourselves, no one can. Look around and look at the people around you, their faces. Do these people look like weak witches and wizards? No. We are in the finest school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and we have the potential to be the greatest, so why let it go to waste by not being able to fight back? There's a Muggle saying : 'United we stand, divided we fall.' We may still be in school, but if we are all together as one, we can fight evil, we can be strong. So are you going to be strong and fight or shy away like the weak? But then again, there are risks, and we don't want to force anyone into doing anything they don't want to so please, think about it and if you want to call quits, leave now, because I do not wish to waste your time any longer. Thank you.' Hermione ended her speech.

The crowd looked at her in silence for awhile and then suddenly Luna started clapping. A few others then continued clapping after her and soon the whole crowd was cheering for Hermione. No one left the room as the cheers died down.

'So where do I sign up?' Seamus shouted out, and a smile appeared on Hermione's face. She took out a piece of parchment and everyone began writing their names on it. She felt quite pleased with herself as she looked through all the names after the list was done. She bit her lip when she realised that there were no Weasley's on the list because all of them were either at home, ill or taken like Ron. Hermione sighed.

'`Mione, thanks for everything, today' Harry gave her a warm smile as he placed his hand on her shoulder. They sat down in the empty Room of Requirement and Hermione wept silently, in mourning of Ron. Harry was dropping a few tears himself, and wondered what they were doing to Ron. They talked for awhile about some good memories the three of them had together and then parted ways. Harry went to meet Snape and Hermione just went back to her dorm.

Hermione sighed as she plopped down on her bed. She had no idea where her plan with Draco was heading towards, but at this point it looked as if it wasn't going anywhere towards her goal. She was ready to get Malfoy as drunk as possible to make him tell her whatever she needed to know. She wasn't about to give up, instead she was just getting started. It was strange for Hermione to gain sudden bursts of courage like she did in the Transfiguration classroom to face Draco, but she blamed it on her inner Gryffindor. Then again, there was a voice in the back of her head telling her that she was being heartless, using Malfoy like that. Although it was Draco Malfoy in her plan, he was still a human being, with feelings. No _hate, no love, just business_, she told herself once again. But could she do it? The more she tried contemplating a plan that considered emotions as her advantage, she couldn't bring herself to leave out her own emotions. Which Malfoy was the real one and which was the one under the influence of Amortentia. She was confused herself.

Just at that moment she heard a rattling on the window, like a bird's beak knocking on it. She opened the window and a beautiful Eagle Owl perched on the window and it dropped a rolled up parchment into her hands and left.

_Astronomy Tower after dinner.  
>Don't be late, Granger.<em>

**Last post of the week ! :D so hope you guys enjoy! Oh and I want your feedback on :  
>1. Your feelings if Ron comes back TOO SOON (; [cause I see some ginger hate in the reviews] Weasley is our king, no?<br>2. If Ginny hooks up with a Slytherin :B  
>3. If HARRY falls for a Slytherin O:<br>**

**Yep, so if you got a moment, tell me whatcha' think aye' ? :D  
>Loves xx <strong>


	11. Slytherins

Look Into My Eyes, And Tell Me You Love Me: Slytherins

Hermione went up to the Astronomy Tower after dinner, planning to intoxicate Draco with some fire whiskey and then get every bit of information which she could use out of him, and that would be all the interaction that she and Malfoy would be having for the rest of her life. Having to deal with him for so long has been taking a toll on her, unknowingly, and she wanted a break from it all. She wanted a break from him going from ice-cold Malfoy to asshole Malfoy to nice Malfoy to drunk Malfoy. She just wanted it to be over, but secretly, she just wanted nice Malfoy.

Draco was already waiting there at the balcony when Hermione arrived at the Astronomy Tower.

'Why did you ask me to meet you here?' Hermione asked as soon as she reached the top stair. Draco was wearing a black sweater and slacks, making him almost impossible to see him due to the dim lighting and the dark sky, but thank Merlin he had light hair, and the dim fire from nearby made it look golden.

'No particular reason, just wanted to see if you'd show or something,' he shifted away from the balcony into the darkness, not allowing her to see his face. He was being unreasonably mysterious, which sent tingles down Hermione's spine.

'So, I'm here for no reason?' she tried to compute his strange response to her question but it didn't make sense. He had called for her, via owl, for no particular reason, and now she wasn't even allowed to see his face, it was scaring her; Merlin knows what else had he hidden in the dark. Hermione felt threatened by not being able to see him.

'I guess so, unless you yourself have a reason of being here, like to sort out whatever happened yesterday. I'm still waiting the explanation from the supposedly Know-It-All Granger. '

Oddly, she could even recognize him smirking at her as he replied her, and she bit her lip. After spending the whole yesterday with Harry, she had completely forgotten about the incident that happened in the morning.

'Malfoy if you're not going to show your face I'm going to leave right now,' she called out threateningly, trying to hide the fact that she was afraid in the sound of her commanding voice. She was looking around for a glimpse of blonde in the dark, but all she saw was darkness, which was quite unpleasant as she was not very fond of the dark. She moved to find a wall to lean against, and kept her hand in her pocket where her wand was just in case.

It was a breaking point for Draco, who wanted to keep his face away for as long as he could. He let out a growl of anger and then stepped in front of Hermione, which shocked her because he thought that he had been quite far away when they spoken. She held his face up by his chin, revealing a black eye, a busted lip and a few scratches on his face. He turned away immediately, not intending to see the expression on her face.

'It's nothing,' he walked away, planning on avoiding the whole conversation about the story of his face.

'No. Malfoy, look at me right now and tell me what happened to your face,' Hermione said commandingly, he was hurt very badly and she could see the fresh blood clots as if it had happened minutes before she came.

'It's nothing Granger. Now, tell me why you came anyway?' he turned away from her, and verbally turned away from the subject. He was more interested in Hermione than he was of himself, mainly just to change the topic.

'Draco Malfoy, tell me what's wrong. What happened? I don't think you can even blink properly let alone make it through the night and all you want to do is play Marco Polo in the Astronomy Tower. Have you no priorities?' she furrowed her brows and glared at him with her big brown eyes full of worry. He looked back at her and he simply melted in her eyes, he wasn't going to be able to keep this from her.

'Who the hell is Marco Polo? I got in a fight with Blaise and Theo. That's all. Care to answer my question now?' he turned back to Hermione and looked at her.

'It's a Muggle game. And no, that is not all. Why the hell did you go and get into a fight with them?'

'It's no big deal, they were saying how I stole one of their girls, I don't know whether it was Blaise's or Theo's girl but they just ganged up against me, which in my defence I had absolutely no idea who they're after, I've almost been with every girl and they just kept quiet all this time. I told them to sod off and make a move first before the girl settles for someone better,' he replied bitterly. He could not convey much emotion through his face but his eyes told it all. He was being egoistic and arrogant, and he paid the price physically.

'Malfoy, I'm taking you to Madam Pomfrey's now. I don't care if I have to drag you there or hex you; you are going there right now. Let me take care of you like you did for me when I got poisoned.' Hermione took his hand and they proceeded to the Hospital Wing. Draco wanted to resist her so badly but he liked it when she was so commanding, and that she was holding him for once instead of the other way around.

Draco came to a conclusion that the feelings he had for Hermione Granger were fabricated from lust after kissing her that day. He did not allow himself to feel anything more towards her and so he tried his best not to think of her. He remembered the long conversation he had with her that night in the Hospital Wing and he figured that he could not just be friends with Hermione Granger. She was smart and beautiful, not to mention her charming smile and brilliant wit, not that he would admit it to anyone, not even himself. He wanted to spend time with her, but he was afraid he'll get too close to her, and so he decided that all he wants with her is just to snog and maybe shag with, and nothing more.

When they finally got to the Hospital Wing, Draco's face was worse because the bruises started to turn bluish black and the colour of his clotted blood was darker. Madam Pomfrey simply conjured out a potion to heal his wounds, and some paste for the bruises. Draco told Madam Pomfrey to tend to other students and asked Hermione to treat him. He sat on the cot and faced Hermione.

'You want to take care of me, here's your chance,' he managed a small playful smirk, taking every opportunity for Hermione to touch him.

'This is going to sting a bit so don't be such a baby okay Malfoy?' Hermione applied some purple coloured wound-cleaning potion to a cotton bud.

'Me? A baby? It's just a teensy bit of- Aah!' he hissed in pain as Hermione dabbed the cotton bud to a cut on his face. It stung him but after that the wound healed almost instantly, and Hermione rubbed his freshly recovered pale skin gently.

'Brace yourself Malfoy, you still have about three cuts to go,' Hermione said while applying more wound-cleaning potion.

'Oh come on Granger, you talk as if I can't take pain,' Draco half-smirked, trying to resist the pain. Hermione tilted her head to observe his black eye. It was darkening by the second, but Draco would not admit that it hurt. She continued cleaning the rest of his cuts as he bit his lip, trying not to let out the slightest clue that it initially stung him very badly.

'See, it doesn't hurt,' he smiled at her.

'Yeah, but I bet your tongue is pretty sore from you biting on it.' Draco's eyes widened in shock. _How did she know? _

'Hmm, now for that eye of yours.' She gently rubbed some bruise removal paste onto his eye. He cringed the first time she touched his face.

'There, in an hour both your eyes would look the same again,' she bent close to Draco's face, making sure that she had covered every inch of the skin around his eye with the yellow coloured paste. Draco was looking into her eyes as she observed his face. He could see that she was very concentrated and she had the same concerned look on her face which she had when she was reading or examining something, serious and sexy. Draco was so lost in her brown eyes that at that moment he forgot about all the pain he had felt throughout his body.

'Malfoy, we have a problem,' she pushed a lock of hair behind her ear as she looked at his busted lip.

'What's wrong?'

'There's no potion here for your lip. I could use the normal potion but that's just to heal skin. Your lip isn't really skin so I don't know if it can work the same way, it's pretty dangerous. Well by right it should know that your lips will regenerate to its original form but what if the cell-'

Draco leaned in to kiss her softly before she could say anymore. He tried to pull apart from her but Hermione placed a hand behind Draco's head and lightly pushed him closer to her. She shifted her lips to his bottom lip where it was injured and began to suck on it. She managed to suck off a bit of blood from the wound, and then parted from his lips, not losing eye contact with him. Throughout that moment, both their minds completely shut off, and the thought of what was right and what was wrong completely slipped away, and the confusion just slipped away to be dealt with later. This kiss was different from the previous few, and instead of creating a cloudy feeling in their minds, this one did the latter, clearing out all doubt, as this kiss was innocent and soft, not fiery and forced like the others.

As their lips parted, a rush of thoughts came in to clutter her mind again, which she pushed aside quickly to avoid ruining the moment, this perfect moment of serenity where she felt peace in her mind. No annoying thoughts gnawing at her to sort out, no negative emotions from anything. Just, plain bloody beautiful bliss, and she knew that he felt it too.

'Here's some lip balm, so that your lip won't get infected while it's trying to recover, until then, no kissing of any sort,' she tried to say with a straight face, but she was pretty embarrassed about it, which was easily detected by Malfoy.

'No…?' he shook his head slowly, pouting at Hermione while he stared at her with his soft grey eyes. Hermione laughed.

'Do you have any more bruises? Or did they just destroy your face?' she peered over to Draco's arms and legs to check for any injuries.

'No it's just my face I think. Haven't found a way to build muscles of steel on my face yet,' he smirked at Hermione.

'Malfoy, shirt up, now,' Hermione rolled her eyes.

'Wow, now this Granger I like' Draco winked at Hermione with his good eye and playfully untucked his shirt to unbutton.

'No Malfoy, just pull it up, I know there's a bruise somewhere,' Hermione stopped his hands and Draco pulled out his shirt, revealing a fairly large bruise on his stomach. Hermione looked shocked at the size of the bruise and Draco did too and his eyes widened.

'Muscles of steel?' Hermione shot a look at Draco and pressed two fingers against the bruise, causing Draco to let out a hiss of pain.

'It didn't hurt until you touched it Granger, so it doesn't count,' he smirked at Hermione. Hermione simply ignored his comment and put some paste onto a cloth, then put it onto Draco's bruise. She then muttered a spell to make it stick to his stomach. After that she pulled Draco's shirt down and straightened his shirt, getting a feel of his perfect abs. Draco was absolutely turned on by Hermione's touch. He leaned in to try to kiss Hermione again, but it was stopped by her index finger which pressed against his lip, gently pushing him backwards.

'I was serious about… About what I said,' she avoided using the word 'kiss' to prevent herself from blushing of thinking about what happened.

'What? You were for real? I thought you were just joking about it!' he looked confused, and suddenly it was like something smacked the back of his head, asking him what the bloody fuck he was doing. He had just kissed Granger, again. But this time it was different. This kiss, was different. _Merlin fuck no,_ what was he doing. There was something about this Muggle-born witch which made Slytherin's soft for her. First Blaise, now him. _Ugh, Zabini_, he thought, and wondered if Zabini wanted Granger too.

'No, I'm your healer, and healer's orders are final.' and she started cleaning up all the used cotton buds on the table. Just as she was about to leave, Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott entered the Hospital Wing. Hermione took Draco by the hand and urged them to leave, avoiding Blaise and Theo.

'Leaving so soon, Malfoy?' Blaise shouted over to Draco as he was tucking in his shirt, ready to leave.

'What I do is none of your business, Zabini, and it stopped being your business since you and Theodore over here ganged up against me for no fucking reason.,' he said effortlessly but expressing hatred in every word, not looking at them at all.

'Hey Granger, you can do better than him you know?' Theo chuckled as he and Blaise walked towards Hermione and Draco.

'I'm just helping an injured student, Nott. A badly injured one of that, no thanks to you and Zabini.' Hermione replied aggressively. However terrible a person Draco Malfoy was, no one deserved to be beaten up by their own mates.

'I would get injured just for you to _help_ me, Granger,' Theo gave a flirtatious wink to Hermione, who rolled her eyes in response.

'What are you two doing here anyway?' Draco asked, annoyed by Theo's behaviour. If they weren't in the Hospital Wing with so many people around he would have thrown a punch at Theo.

'Just checking out our masterpiece, in case it needed some touch up's,' Theo replied, challenging Draco to ball up his fist and punch him back in his face.

'Very smooth Nott, planning to go violent in front of a girl. No wonder you're complaining that no girls are into you,' Draco spat, clicking his tongue in disappointment. Since he was in no condition to physically attack Theodore, he decided to verbally do so.

'Malfoy watch your tongue, we won't want another black eye now, although I must admit it suits your look,' Blaise stepped forward, warning Draco. Draco merely rolled his eyes.

'Granger, stay away from him. He's nothing but trouble. Maybe you should learn how to pick sides,' Theo extended his hand and bowed to Hermione.

'I don't intend to, but if I ever do, it sure as hell won't be yours,' she scrunched up her knuckles, causing one of them to crack as she glared at Theo, her eyes like daggers, like her stare could rip Theo to shreds.

'Fine Granger, but the offer still stands till the moment you regret,' Theo flashed a smile at Hermione, as if he were so sure that she was going to regret him soon. He turned to leave, not showing any reaction to how he felt about Hermione's choice of words.

'Bye Granger, ferret,' Blaise courteously nodded at Hermione and then left with Theo. Hermione let out a sigh of relief. These _Slytherin's are going to be the death of me one of these days_, she thought to herself.

'Granger?' Draco nudged Hermione on the shoulder softly.

'Yes?'

'Do you know how much of a turn on you are when you're fierce?'

..

Lucius Malfoy reached home early that evening from a meeting with the Dark Lord, with a certain smile etched onto his usually sullen face.

'Cissa!' he barked as soon as the house elf opened the door to him and hurried away with his cloak. The poor elf was probably suffocating when Lucius carelessly dropped it over the elf, but she was used to it by now.

Narcissa Malfoy approached her husband from the study, her reading glasses still on.

'You're back early today, Lucius,' she replied formally.

'I have good news, from the Dark Lord,' his smiled widened. Narcissa's heart sank. Any 'good' news from Voldemort was never good at all. It always involved some terrible scheme and usually ended with someone dying. Even so, she forced a smile on her face.

'Our own son,' he started. Narcissa's heart sank even deeper.

Oh no, not Draco. Not Draco.

'Is going to be a Death Eater!' he finished, heaving in a very satisfied and proud breath. Narcissa couldn't help but allow her mouth to gape opened as a sigh escaped it. Her own child, a Death Eater?

'Draco is but a child!' Narcissa shrieked. Never in her worst nightmares could she imagine her sweet child doing bidding for that monster. It was too much of her to take in. First her husband, and now her only son. Lucius' smile disappeared and was replaced by his usual, cold expression.

'All the better! He will get an early start, and the Dark Lord would trust us even more!' Narcissa began shaking her head violently, unwilling to believe her own ears, but she knew better than try to deny her husband. All she could do was to silently voice out her disagreement.

Suddenly, the pair heard a moan of pain from the dungeon.

'When are you going to get that, that boy out of our house?' Narcissa nodded towards the dungeons.

'Oh, as soon as Draco takes the Mark, actually.' Lucius' lips curled into a sinister smile. Narcissa simply blinked at her husband in a 'I don't follow you' look.

'You see, he's part of Draco's ceremony. To prove he is worthy of being a Death Eater, he must _kill_ the boy.'

The air between them became colder than it was before, and Narcissa could not handle this any longer. She turned her back on Lucius and went back to the study, slamming the door shut behind her. Her sweet Draco, being forced to kill just to be worthy to be cursed for the rest of his life. She slumped back on her chair, throwing her reading glasses on the table nearby and sighed.

Little did Draco Malfoy know that he was about to receive a letter about his fate, and worse, that he had to kill a certain red haired boy by the name of Ronald Weasley.

**(: hey guys. Yes, now we all know where our dear ginger is! Phew.  
>Enjoy x <strong>


	12. Truth

Look Into My Eyes, And Tell Me You Love Me : Truth

Hermione found her favourite spot at the back of the library next to the window which overlooked the Black Lake and let out a sigh of despair. It had been two weeks since she last saw Ron. She forcefully pushed a lock of hair behind her ear and started scribbling on the parchment with a quill, the tip of it scratching hard against the wooden table from how forceful Hermione was writing. She was frustrated that she couldn't concentrate properly, that she hasn't got anywhere close to getting Ron back, and that she couldn't get Draco off her mind, neither could she understand the reason he was always there. She scribbled so hard that the tip of her quill broke, and she just threw it on the table, causing a trail of ink to stain her fresh parchment, which was absorbing the ink into its fibres. She groaned and leaned her head back on the chair and closed her eyes, trying to calm herself. She took deep breaths and rubbed her temples with her left hand. She had been trying to be so strong lately, but somehow that didn't seem to take her anywhere. She was tired and beaten down, all she wanted was a glimpse of her ginger friend and everything would sure be better.

Suddenly, she felt a pair of hands massaging her shoulders, immediately feeling the tension in her shoulders loosen and she let out a subtle moan of delight, then her eyes shot open when she came to her senses that someone was actually giving her a massage. A pair of warm silver eyes stared back at her, his lips still slightly red from the other day and his face was back to its flawless form. The sun which shone in from the window made his hair look golden instead of the conventional blonde, creating a warm effect, like Hermione was looking at an angel upside down.

'Malfoy,' she acknowledged, sitting up properly and resuming her work before she threw her quill.

'Why so tense, Granger,' He put his arms on the table on both sides of Hermione, then bent over to whisper in her ear.

'Stress I guess, what are you doing?' she got to the point. She didn't feel the same way as she did yesterday when she was kissing Draco, and now the demons of her thoughts were back to haunt he, and Malfoy really wasn't helping. Her emotions were so messed up and she felt sorry for Malfoy if he tried to put up with her, but she had no choice. The words had already slipped from her mouth and she couldn't take them back.

'Helping you. Returning the favour.' He explained as his hands returned to her shoulders, rubbing them softly. She could not deny the fact that it felt really good for someone to personally ease the tension in her shoulders, and he was so good at doing it.

'You do know that I was the one returning the favour the other day. Now you're just helping me again for no reason.' She implied the fact that he liked to do things without reason, which was completely opposite of what Granger does. Nothing is done without reason and she felt as though she was wasting time doing things which had no reason to.

'Well helping you now means that you owe me, and you owing me might lead to something else, if you know what I mean,' Hermione turned to look up at Draco, almost bumping him in his face because he was leaning so closely to her. Draco let go of her shoulders and took a few steps back, smirking at her teasingly.

'What are you doing here anyway? I didn't think you'd know the way to the library,' she changed the subject, getting out a new parchment to resume her homework again. She hated doing assignments related to Potions, which is the main reason why she has a habit of completing that particular homework first, even if it were due almost a month later.

'What's wrong Granger? Don't fancy a chat with someone you locked lips with more than once? A little rude don't you think?' he flashed a wicked grin to Hermione. He knew how carried away she gets when they kiss and it was his pleasure to use it against her. He found out what Granger's weakness was, and he wasn't going to let go of it that easily.

'I'm sorry then. Mind me. Hello Malfoy, what do you want?' she turned around to face him, replying him in an irritated voice. It was very odd for Hermione, how she can't stop thinking about him when he's not around, and the moment he tries to approach her she just wants to get away from him. _Just great, brilliant actually_. Another bit of frustration to the top of the pile. She couldn't figure out what was it with Draco Malfoy, his overly inflated pride, along with his habit of switching personalities so very often, with a dash of charm from his dazzling grey eyes and that pure blonde hair. A part of Hermione would mentally beg for him to do something so that she would be pleasantly surprised by it, but another part of her wants to shut him away in case he does something which was uncomfortable to her. To her, Malfoy was sweet and sour, ever changing, but somehow Hermione's curiosity would be enough to make her want to have a taste of him again, to see if he was sweet and sour this time.

'Looking for some books actually, until I saw a certain damsel in distress, so my basic instinct was to help her,' he smirked at her, not letting out any emotion that he was mentally berating himself in his head at this point.

He couldn't quite put his finger on why he had a sudden craving to be close to Granger when she rejects him almost all the time. It was like playing slot machines and only on rare occasions will he win. His system had always worked on fumbling idiots who were inferior or deemed idiotic as his peers, except Zabini maybe, but he's gone with the wind. But with Granger it was absolutely different, her warmth, her intelligence and most of all, the look on her face when she's trying so hard to stay serious when he was toying with her emotions; that brought a whole new feeling to Draco. He felt challenged by her, like it was some game that they had created and he just had to win, he was going to make Granger fall for him, and fall hard. This might have been to conceal his hidden desire that he wanted her as badly as he wanted her to want him, but no. He pushed all emotion aside besides lust. He was lusting for her touch and her skin; the way she made his skin tingle. Fuck the butterflies in his stomach and the way his head clouded up when she smiled at him. Those were just extra feelings, which weren't supposed to be there.

'You don't help Muggle-born's, Malfoy. If you want to lie, it better be a good lie,' she turned back to resume her work, a smile forming on her face, eager for Malfoy's response. It was like a drug to her, to be able to play tease with the boy she hated her whole school life, and the moment she's reconnected with Malfoy through conversation, it was like all her worries dissipated in a blink of an eye.

Draco made Hermione feel alive again, through the way he acted towards her, like he wanted her yet didn't want to admit it. She could feel it too, but that would be a little too self-absorbent to admit in her mind, let alone out loud. She tried convincing herself that Malfoy was just playing, yet at some point her thoughts will linger further until she reached the stage where the Slytherin boy had feelings for her, and then she would deny it and try to keep her mind off him. It felt good to be wanted, a warm feeling which made her feel content. It was especially nice to feel because all this time she eating herself inside out, from when Ron had gotten together with Lavender, to the moment when he was taken, right up to this very moment where she threw her quill in frustration; only for that hole inside her to be filled again in a few minutes of Draco's presence.

The moment those words left her lips, Malfoy felt all the blood in his face drain, and all at once, the memories of the past five years came pounding into his head, like they all decide to Apparate in his mind at the same time, and after the initial shock of his past coming back to haunt him, he could recall every terrible thing he had done towards Granger. He felt like he had been in a trance all this while, being nice to Granger and all, kissing her several times and almost having sex with her. But what shocked him the most was the fact that he didn't seem to instantly regret everything that happened the past few days, instead he felt like choking the Malfoy who had his hair gelled back perfectly in his second year for calling her Mudbl- , now he flinched if he even tried to think of that word. He leaned in to her, resting his elbows on the wooden chair which she was sitting on and whispered into her ear.

'But you aren't just any Muggle-born, you're special,' he slipped a piece of parchment, on the table next to her books and he left without a sound. Hermione was internally fighting with herself just to resist the urge to turn around to watch him as he walked away from her, but she kept her head down, her grip tightening on a new quill, for the previous one was chipped off and couldn't be used to write. With her mind cleared out now- admittedly because of Draco- she could do her homework properly, keeping full concentration before any unpleasant thought decided to conveniently tumble back in her mind. She was nearly done with her Arithmancy homework when her glance shifted to the side of her table, spotting a folded piece of parchment sitting there, tempting her to take it. She tried to fight off her curiosity a while longer to finish her homework because she was so close to finishing, but the distracting white note on the table got the best of her, and she picked the note up and opened it quickly. As expected, the note was short and brief.

_Astronomy Tower, after dinner.  
>No bruises this time, promise.<br>_

_Damn_, she cursed beneath her breath. Now she had to decide whether she was going to go there and possibly be fooled if it were for no reason again, or to blow him off and risk never being able to see him again. She exhaled sharply. Again, it was a test of her pride against his. She bit her bottom lip and tried to figure this out. After half an hour of tapping her quill against the table and biting her lip, she finally found a solution for it. She packed her belongings and hurried back to the Great Hall, for lunch.

..

'Ginny!' Hermione screamed the moment she saw a glimpse of straight red-hair from a distance. Ginny, taken by surprise by her own name stood up and saw Hermione walking towards her in a fast pace.

'Ginny it's so good to see you again!' Hermione hugged the youngest Weasley, glad to see her again.

'Hermione! How have you been holding up nowadays? Are you okay?' she returned the hug, rubbing a hand against Hermione's back.

'Yes, of course I'm fine. How's everyone back at the burrow? And George? Is he okay? I hope he is…' her voice trailed off, thinking about Ron again. She sighed, and let go of Ginny, taking a seat next to her ginger friend

'Everything is fine, and George's doing well. He made quite a quick recovery, with the pressure of his whole family around him, of course,' Ginny sat down, looking quite happy to deliver good news. 'Almost his whole family, even Bill came back from Romania just to look at him. But George had sworn he would've recovered even faster if Ron was there,' Ginny clenched her lips tight, trying not to let out a sign of despair in her voice. Hermione bit her lip and listened as Ginny explained everything that happened at the Burrow, and the Aurors which constantly came over to tell Molly of their progress on finding Ron. They roughly know where he's being held captive, but there are some complications. _Of course, complications_. Hermione thought to herself. Nothing was ever black and white when it came to sticky situations.

'When did you get back Gin? How come I didn't see you?' Hermione asked, trying to change the subject as memories of Ron were about to overflow from her.

'This morning actually, after breakfast. I didn't see you around and I was pretty tired so I decided to take a brief nap before having my lunch. I suppose you were at the library right?'

'Guilty as charged,' Hermione smiled warmly ad Ginny. She seemed to always know Hermione inside out, and that was when her stomach cringed. Everything that has happened with Malfoy was when Ginny wasn't here. She could only imagine what Ginny's response would be if she found out what has happened.

'Oh and Hermione, this came for you this morning,'

Hermione took one look at the item that Ginny was holding in her hands and her eyes widened, plummeting her deep into confusion. Once again, she was confused, so terribly confused.

She grabbed the small pink box which was tied neatly with a ribbon and chucked it into her robes, not even wanting to see what it was.

'`Mione are you alright there?' Ginny asked, sensing Hermione's sudden change.

'Yeah, fine Gin, just got to go somewhere,' her voice trailed off as she left the table.

She hurried through the corridors and made her way towards her own common room. She would have succeeded in reaching there if she hadn't stopped to listen to a conversation which she would regret eavesdropping later.

'And may I ask when my student would be relieved of the potion?' the male voice asked in a stern demanding voice

'It will fade as soon as Mr. Weasley has been brought back to Hogwarts.' The voice of a elderly woman replied.

'Dare I ask why the Headmaster has to use this sort of _technique_ against Mr. Malfoy?'

'Oh Severus, have you not forgotten who his parents are? I believe you know them better than I! What would it be if Lucius were to find out that we are trying to extract valuable information from his son! We are trying to keep the situation mild. Anyway, the boy is young. No one would suspect if he simply falls in love.'

'Yes they will, Minerva. Do you not know which girl you have chose for him to fall for? Granger. Now only is it suspicious that he has fallen for a Gryffindor, but you do know his perspectives on blood supremacy! This plan is bound to fail and we know it as well as Professor Dumbledore does.' The man raised his voice, yet tried to keep it at a whisper.

'Professor Dumbledore has told me that you out of all people would understand that Mr. Malfoy's affection towards a Muggle-born Gryffindor is indeed possible. _Personal experience_, he calls it.'

Severus couldn't reply. 'Personal experience', the term used to some up his childhood. Dare he admit he had feelings for one Lily Evans? No. So he simply stopped protesting about the situation and accepted it. He need not worry about Malfoy. After Weasley returned, everything would be fine again. It wasn't as if that know-it-all Granger would actually fall for Malfoy too. Lily didn't fall in love with him, and seeing that the conditions are similar, it would be wise to come to a conclusion that Hermione Granger would not have feelings for Draco Malfoy.

Hermione on the other hand, sank down towards the wall which she was hiding behind while she was listening to the conversation. So it was true then. Draco didn't actually love her. It's all just a stupid potion he's under.

Stupid, stupid potion.

No, it was her who was the stupid one. A part of her actually thought that, maybe, just maybe he might have feelings for her. She felt so heartbroken at that moment, and then wondered why she actually cared. Did she like Malfoy too? How could she? _He was terrible, arrogant, annoying, egoistic, caring, charming, good look- fuck._

At the end, the decision was simple. Cherish her time with Draco, and let it be the end of it. She would only get more hurt if she tried to pursue him when he's back to his normal self. She sighed, but had to accept reality. This was it. This was how her life was supposed to be. Not with Malfoy. A life without Malfoy. To pretend as though he never came into her life because when Ron came back he would definitely be out of it. All of this was just a sweet dream.

She spent quite a bit of time trying to convince herself about that, and at the end she fully believed that she was emotionally detached from the situation. When she got back to her dormitory, she took a fresh piece of parchment and scribbled three big words, setting her goal.

GET RON BACK.

**Heh, penny for your thoughts? Imagine if Draco becomes a Death Eater and kills Ron, then Ron would never come back and Draco will never stop loving Hermione, BUT IT WOULD BE ALL A LIE D: or would it? (;  
>Loves x <strong>


	13. Draco

Look Into My Eyes, And Tell Me You Love Me: Draco

******HELLO THERE (: This chapter was written while listening to A Thousand Years by Christina Perri. So yeah, here's your background music for the chapter :B**

The mind, to most people, can be such a bitch sometimes, so simple yet so difficult to explain. It can tell you one thing but make you feel another, and when you try to justify it everything becomes a big puddle of confusion, which Draco Malfoy refers to as a bloody mind-fuck. Also, one can think about several things at once without knowing it, which is usually called the subconscious mind. Only during the interpretation of thoughts, one would only choose to narrate the thoughts which they choose to tell, leaving the other thoughts in their subconscious. Draco Malfoy, the one person who everyone thought was the most carefree bloke in Hogwarts had a lot on his mind lately. His father had just owled him to 'Congratulate' him for Lucius' son, was going to be a Death Eater. Draco was required to go back during December holidays to receive his Dark Mark. That's absolutely perfect, brilliant actually, what better way to ruin Christmas than to get an eternal tattoo. He almost thought that his father would have already run out of ideas to ruin every holiday he ever had.

It was mid-October already, and to think about in two month's time, his perfect porcelain skin will be tainted as a mark branding him to evil for the rest of his life. He was absolutely furious when he received the letter, blowing up into pieces right after reading it. He knew that this day was going to come soon, but he was never prepared to handle the situation. _Bloody fucking hell_. He cursed every profanity he knew and swore at every god there was to relieve the stress of all this. But the worst part was that he knew whatever he did he couldn't escape his fate, and so he was like a convict counting the days left till he met the gallows.

At the same time, he had found his fresh liking to Granger, a Muggle-born, and couldn't figure out why. So here he was, torn apart, his emotions growing fond of the Gryffindor while his soul has been already sold to the Dark Lord, which on the other hand wanted to kill every Mudblood there was. He needed to get away from it all, from everything, until he figured out what he was going to do. But what was there to do? When daddy already set your death date and mummy has no say in your life. When you can't control your own hormones and now look where you stand, attracted to the one type of person which you have deemed repulsive your whole life. Fuck everything. Malfoy swore underneath his breath just thinking about his situation. At this point he didn't care that he was filthy rich, he realised that no amount of money you have will buy you happiness and most importantly freedom. He wanted to run off, but where would he go? His relatives were either Death Eater's or on Potter's side. Every night he'd busy himself in thoughts and ideas which usually led him to dead ends, and it was causing him a lot of headaches and the need to get intoxicated a lot, because only then can he free himself from his own mind. But little did he know that he wasn't the only one having problems up in their head.

As Hermione Granger rummaged her trunk to find decent looking clothes to wear, she was thinking about at least five different things in a minute.

First she thought about what Malfoy's opinion would be of her choice of clothing, whether he would actually notice that she took time to decide what to wear. She meant it casual, like she just grabbed the closest item of clothing to her and took it to wear, only to realise that it was a plain purple T-shirt with a v-shaped neck, and looking at it twice the shirt was lavender coloured. She felt a cringe in her stomach and threw the shirt back on her bed where she found it, her recent thoughts filled with images of Ronald and Lavender, frolicking around and holding hands. It only made her sick to her stomach when she thought about it. Thinking of that somehow brought her thoughts to Neville, and whether Draco really thought that he was her Secret Admirer, which brought her to think about the actual Mr. Secret Admirer, who had sent her a beautiful necklace with a ruby as its pendant along with a silver chain, which made her wonder whether she should wear it that night, leading back to thinking about Malfoy's opinion of her choice of attire. The truth was as obvious as it seems, and the thoughts of Hermione Granger were endless and cluttered, but somehow Malfoy would be able to find a place in her thoughts. But when asked what was wrong by the only Weasley sister, her response was a simple

'Nothing, just trying to get something to wear but the colour of that shirt is disturbing me,' Hermione pointed to the light purple T-shirt which was now lying on her bed. Ginny understood immediately when she saw the Lavender top, and she went to Hermione's trunk and easily pulled out a pair of black skinny jeans and a turquoise tank top, along with a black hoodie.

'Ah, thanks Gin, I don't know what I'd do without you,' she smiled at Ginny with gratitude when retrieving the clothes from her hands.

'So 'Mione, what's been on your mind lately?'

'Oh nothing, just the usual.' Hermione sighed. There were a thousand things running through her mind, not that she didn't think that much on a daily basis, just that her recent thoughts seemed to bother her. Malfoy Malfoy Malfoy.

'You look like you're trying to blow something up with your mind,' Ginny reasoned, making hand movements of an explosion.

'Funny, someone told me the exact same thing the other day. But honestly Gin it's nothing,' Hermione replied convincingly, while struggling to pull her jeans up.

'If you say so. But if there is something that's bothering you, let me know. It's not healthy to keep it all to yourself you know? You might actually succeed in exploding something if you carry on that way,' Ginny sat herself down on Hermione's bed, taking the lavender coloured T-shirt to fold.

'Do I really look that worried? I thought you were just joking about it?' Hermione's face turned to Ginny with an even more worried look. Her lips were pursed tightly and she furrowed her eyebrows, causing Ginny to let out a soft laugh.

'Yes, you just looked ten times more worried than you were just now. It's like you're worried about being worried.'

Hermione bit her lip as she fixed her hair in the mirror. She charmed her hair to fall into locks of soft curls instead of trying to comb through her bushy hair. Bidding Ginny goodbye she used the excuse that she was going to study in the library, then took her bag and headed straight for the Astronomy Tower. Her heart was beating harder and harder as she approached the stairs of the Astronomy Tower; as though her heart itself was banging against her ribcage. The cold night breeze gently blew, sending shivers down Hermione's spine as she was walking up the staircase. She had a sudden urge to turn back and just pull back on her plan but as she caught her breath, her mind drifted to thoughts of Ron, and she snapped back to the main reason why she had to do this. She took a deep breath and silently crept up the stairwell, only to find that it was empty.

In a split second, all her nerves were suddenly calm; instead she was filled with disappointment, and let out a loud sigh. Admittedly there was a part of her that had already predicted that Draco might not show up, but she didn't think that it might actually be true. She bit hard on her bottom lip and swallowed the bitter taste of being stood up, then turned to silently return back to her dorm, pretending that it all never happened and trying to prevent her sorrow from projecting itself on her face. It was painful, somehow, and she could not explain why she was so upset about such a little thing. It was Malfoy anyway, not anyone special. It probably was the feeling of expecting someone who wasn't there which made her feel so blue. _Not because it was Malfoy_, she reminded herself.

'Granger, you going somewhere?' a familiar voice called up from a dark corner. Hermione's face lit up almost immediately, which was surprising for her because she didn't know her mood could change that fast. She stopped in her tracks and turned around, trying to keep a straight face. Her bottom lip was swollen and red from her biting on it, and he jaw dropped in awe when she turned to see Draco leaning against the balcony, along with floating candles on the ledges around the whole Astronomy Tower.

'Malfoy, what… Where?' Granger asked, her mind befuddled by the mix of confusion and amazement of Malfoy and the beautiful display which were presented in front of her.

'Disillusionment Charm, in case some nosy bugger comes and asks me what I'm doing here.' Draco replied swiftly, walking over to Hermione who was still too in shock to even move.

'Why?' she managed to blink away from the amazing view, looking at Draco now who was offering his hand for her to take.

He didn't reply, instead he just smirked at Granger. His eyes were sparkling in the dim lighting, taking Granger's hand over to the balcony. It was hard for him to explain himself if anyone asked him the reason for his sudden interest in Granger. He just wanted to get lost in the moment, deciding not to give a fuck if anyone were to walk in suddenly on them. He wasn't going to think about the reason, thinking only made things complicated for him, as if it weren't complicated enough at the moment. His father would vomit blood if he knew what his son was doing, treating a Muggle-born the way he should treat Parkinson or some other Pureblood. The only reason that this young Malfoy refused to think about it was because he refused to accept that he had feelings for Hermione Granger. Yes, he was, but he was in so much denial that he himself would not admit it in his own mind, although every alternate thought would include Granger. The way her wit reflects on her intelligence, the adorable lip biting habit which made her look like a confused child, and the way her big brown eyes looked into him, would make him do anything for her. Malfoy had never encountered this sort of feeling until he fell for Granger, and he just claimed it was some feeling derived from unsatisfied lust.

Hermione on the other hand was not expecting any of this from Malfoy, and for the second time her mind shut down to enjoy the moment. She smiled broadly as Draco used his wand to lay out a rug on the floor and urged her to lie down next to him. They both looked out to the night sky, which was clear enough for them to see the millions of stars which were hanging above, blinking at them.

'It's beautiful, Malfoy.' Hermione finally spoken after her long pause of being wowed by everything which were presented for her.

'The stars are the brightest this time of the year, and also because you can see my constellation in the sky,' he turned to look at Hermione who was still observing the stars before her.

'Draco. Yeah I think I see it from here,' Hermione sat up, pointing at a big bright star blinking more quickly than other stars, claiming that it's the tail of the constellation. Malfoy laughed because for the first time, Granger was wrong.

'No Granger, not that one.' He sat up and leaned in to her, taking her pointed hand and directing it to another star. His face was closer to hers as he was making sure he pointed to the right one, as he knew his own constellation fairly well and could not possibly get it wrong. '… And then you connect it to that one over there, and you follow up and create the tail,' he moved Hermione's hand and connected the stars with it, so that Hermione could try to picture the whole constellation properly.

'Oh, ha-ha silly me. Now I can see it properly,' she blushed a bit, then turned to look at Draco, not realising that her face was so close to his, and their noses brushed against each other when she did, again not realising that he was looking at her at the same time.

Malfoy set her pointing hand down to the rug and laced his fingers between hers, as their heads tilted slightly towards each other and their lips touched gently. Both sides were afraid to initiate the kiss, to avoid being rejected, but they could feel the burning urge of their lips that they wanted more. Hermione reached out her other hand to place it gently at the back of Draco's head, and then slowly pushed him closer to her, giving him time to back out if he didn't want to do it. He obliged, but took it slow, his lips moving slowly against hers to taste her properly. He tilted is head so that he could kiss her from another angle, but did it gently, and as their kisses gradually included their tongues, they still lightly caressed each other, Draco's tongue slipping into Hermione's mouth slowly, and they savoured every moment of it instead of rushing through the kiss. They sat there on the rug, holding each other so carefully as though they were afraid that they would break each other, and deepened their kiss. Draco put his hand on Hermione's back and pulled her to a position that her head was settled on his crossed legs, and she snaked her arms around his neck as they continued kissing. At this point, they didn't want to stop, nor did Draco want to go to the next level. This moment was perfect, and he didn't want to destroy it. Her lips against his, as her warm tongue carefully licked the insides of his mouth; it felt almost too good to be true.

Feeling a slight discomfort in his neck from bending down to kiss Hermione, Draco placed a hand at the back of Hermione's head, and then lifted her head slightly as he unfolded his legs to lie down next to her, their lips never parting from each other. They snogged for a good twenty minutes before they gradually parted from each other, as their lips felt swollen and numb although they still wanted more. Somehow, they didn't feel uncomfortable with each other when their lips weren't locked together, and Draco's eyes were a warm silvery-grey, staring intently at Hermione's chocolate brown ones. He never felt so complete in his whole life than he did at that moment, and he just wanted to get lost in her eyes and stop time so that the moment wouldn't end.

Hermione on the other hand had all her might to push aside logic and problems, and she felt the exact same way which Draco felt, and all her problems faded away in his silver eyes, along with the beautiful lit candles and bright stars. It was perfect. She felt so calm and content at the same time, and it was all so surreal like it was a dream of some sorts. Bit by bit she felt herself giving in to admitting that she had feelings for Draco Malfoy, and that she didn't care what he did in the past, all that mattered was the present. She no longer felt embarrassed in front of him anymore, and felt like she could open up to this amazing person in front of her. She could see a tinge of fear in his eyes, fearing that she would walk up and leave or break down again, but she reassured him with the most sincere smile, not breaking the eye contact between them.

'Thank you, Draco, for the night,' she said softly, and it was the first time she admittedly used his first name. It symbolised a level of comfort which he had obtained with her, and she was not going to regret it any time soon.

'It's my pleasure, Hermione,' he replied her. They never broke eye contact, and then Draco leaned in for another kiss. They might not be ready to talk about their feelings yet, or even talk about anything at all, but that night was magical for the both of them. They were equally enchanted by each other and felt no discomfort of taking it slowly. As they kissed throughout the night, Draco never had one thought of taking off his pants, or any clothes for that matter. The night was innocent and sweet, as the two newfound lovers embraced each other throughout the night, shutting off every problem they had and simply melting into each other. Although they never spoke about it, deep inside they both knew that they felt the same way for each other, and it felt good.


	14. Feelings

Look Into My Eyes, And Tell Me You Love Me: Feelings

**This chapter is written to the song It Will Rain by Bruno Mars. :D**

It was six in the morning as the sky shifted from pitch black to a mild shade of grey, and the wind brought in the cold rain that Tuesday morning. The candles around the Astronomy Tower had either burned out to be left in a puddle of remaining wax or blew off by the cold wind. Seeking warmth in her sleep, Granger snuggled up to the source of heat which she had been holding on to the entire night, a certain Slytherin stranger. But no, now they were far from being strangers, and they could confidently say that they have pushed the boundaries from being called acquaintances. This new relationship which she had with Draco, had no name for it. It wasn't like they were together, and they couldn't be shag buddies because well, they haven't did it yet. But as the quiet drizzle of morning rain trickled in through the balcony of the Astronomy Tower, it was too cold for sleep. Draco's eyes shot open from the cold, catching a glimpse of curly brown hair in front of him. He took a deep breath of the cold chilly wind, but amongst it he caught a scent of vanilla and mint, which was quite pleasant to smell if not for the cold air. He felt warm though, because his hand was around Hermione's waist, and she was close to his body, radiating heat to him.

His head was against the hard floor but somehow, that didn't matter. He felt so comfortable, his arm over Granger's waist, her fingers laced with his, but it was cold and the rain was getting in, and it took all of him to detach himself from Hermione, who was still asleep peacefully, or so he thought. The moment he moved away from her, her body shivered, and she unconsciously curled up into a ball to fight off the cold. Draco looked at her and charmed a blanket to cover her. He couldn't wake her up, he just couldn't. He didn't know what he would say if he did. Last night had been amazing, but now that it was over, he just didn't know how to sum it up. Were he and Granger together? He couldn't think of what to say if she wanted to speak of it. They did have a connection last night, so why was he lost for words now? He sat down next to her, watching her as she slept soundly, making little wheezing sounds when she exhaled. He was worried that she had got a cold and couldn't bring himself to walk away from her.

'Granger,' he crept up to her and nudged her softly, trying not to startle her. He turned her to expose her to a bit of cold thinking she would awaken when she realised that she was freezing. Hermione was mumbling something, which caught Draco by surprise because he never took Granger for a person who talks in her sleep.

_Draco… Draco… _

He smiled. He never thought that she would be dreaming of him. He felt flattered, really, and leaned in to listen as she muttered his name in her sleep.

_Draco… No… Malfoy… Ron? Ron._

_Weasley? The fuck_? He withdrew himself immediately, and swallowed the bitter taste of jealousy the moment he heard her mutter Weasel's name. His heart sank too fast for him to compute, with anger and disappointment filling him. He took a deep breath and stood up, every nerve in his system aching to do something drastic to relieve his anger. It was not until he reached the stairwell of the Astronomy Tower, and after taking one last look at the sleeping Granger he hurriedly made his way down the spiral staircase, and slammed the door hard behind him, waking Hermione up in a jolt.

It took her a moment for her heart to settle, before looking around to see the melted candle wax and light rain pouring in, wetting the rug which she was sleeping on. She exhaled deeply while trying to calm herself, wrapping the blanket around her as she thought back about the nightmare which had taken place in her dreams that night. It was such a prick though, because the night would have been perfect without the nightmare, and the morning would be perfect with one Draco Malfoy asleep next to her. She collected her things and roughly brushed her hair with her hands, feeling indifferent about it all. She looked at her watch to see that it was almost seven now, then went back to her dorm to get ready for the day. She had no mood to speak to anyone, so she skipped breakfast and went straight to History of Magic, where she found Harry there sleeping. Feeling vague about everything that had happened in the past ten hours or so, she silently sat next to Harry, lying face down on her table to try to absorb all her thoughts and, no. She wasn't going to go through that anymore. No more mental torture. She was just going to let things flow. Draco was like a drug to her, a drug to get her away from her own thoughts, to be lost in his lips and nothing else.

Exactly, nothing else.

She didn't know how to feel emotionally towards him, which was ironic because their physical contact was passionate and blissful. She just didn't know how to sum it all up. The problem was that something happened to the both of them last night which triggered an emotion which had never been felt by either of them before, therefore confusing the both of them. Even if they knew what they felt for each other was- daresay love-, they would never admit it because of their history in Hogwarts and other contributing factors like their blood status and house. But, they do say opposites attract.

The day had passed rather slowly, and it rained almost the whole day non-stop, and Hermione's mood was on par with the weather. She felt cold and empty, and all she wanted to do was cry, but couldn't bring herself to it. She had everything and nothing to cry about, and so she was left in a state of indifference the whole day. Surprisingly, she had not seen Malfoy anywhere the whole day, not like she bothered to check, although she couldn't stop thinking of the previous night. Every time she shut her eyes her mind filled her with images of him, and her lips twitched, as if missing the tender touch of his.

Harry was the opposite that day, though, from the moment he woke up for History of Magic class. He was rather cheery and he did most of the talking after he woke up, mostly telling Hermione about him and Ginny and how they've decided to be official to the public. He figured out that they couldn't afford to hide away their feelings for much longer, and that they needed each other, and a whole list of reasons which went in Hermione's left ear and came out through the right, (which Hermione secretly thought that they were just making up for the absence of Ron) She was genuinely happy for Harry, but she had other things in mind. Thinking of Harry and Ginny together only made her think about Malfoy and her, and whether they were ever going to get together, or even talk. She didn't know whether she did something wrong, but the fact that she woke up alone made her feel guilty as if she did.

She decided to pick up her things and head to the library, and hopefully she would be able to clear her head out, again. She sat by the window as she watched the rain drops trickle down from the outer surface of the window, the gems of liquid sliding down furiously as the rain poured outside. Somehow, Hermione felt more calm and peaceful watching the simple movements of the raindrops, and she ever wondered why people kept fish as pets. Despite raining all day, there was something else which was different. There had been no gift from her Secret Admirer. It wasn't surprising either.

'Something bothering you, Granger?' Hermione registered the voice but couldn't quite put a finger as to who it belonged to. It seemed familiar, but not someone she usually spoken to. She turned around to see a dark skinned Slytherin boy.

'Hello Zabini,'

..

After leaving the Astronomy Tower, Draco stormed his way back to his dorm to find fresh clothes, anything to get that sweet vanilla and mint scent out of his clothes. His lips felt naked against the cold wind, like an indication that he missed Granger's lips. But he roughly rubbed his lips against his sleeve, feeling so angry at himself. Had he known that there was a possibility that Granger and Weasel were interested in each other? Yes. Had he thought about that before using his charm to get her to spend the night with him? No. He felt foolish, like what he had done was a mistake. But Granger's lips didn't lie, and it felt like she wanted him too. Granger, with her soft lips and smooth tongue and skin that felt like silk, which took control of him last night. _Bloody bitch_, he muttered, trying hard to resist breathing in her scent as he took off his robes. He felt so used, letting his emotions run all over him like that, thinking that Granger was just using him to compensate the absence of the swine of a ginger. He couldn't help that he was- dare he admit- emotionally attracted to her, and he was so angry at himself for it. He was never put in a helpless state of being utilised until he fell for that bushy-haired brunette. But now it all made sense, why Granger thought that them shagging was 'wrong', she'd be betraying red-haired weasel. _Bugger._

In anger, he overturned his bed and broke a window, the internal rage taking over him. He felt like shouting and cursing everything, in hopes of throwing out his feelings, and all his memories of last night. He settled down after thrashing his whole room, and with heavy breaths, he looked around at his mess of broken glass, shredded sheets and the feathers of pillows covering the ground. Malfoy took a second to digest what she had made him done, what he had become because of her, all because of her. Granger and every fucking bit of her that made him so bloody attracted to her. Now he didn't deny that he was attracted anymore, he was simply mad at himself for having some sort of feelings towards her. _That bitch_. If he could rip his heart out at that point of day, he probably would have done it.

He stayed in his dorm the whole day, skipping classes and meals. Many Slytherins were wise to stay away from him, as he sat there with all his rage, processing his stupidity and actions, and ironically, thinking of her.

'The fuck is wrong with you Malfoy?' Nott stood at the doorframe of Draco's room, eyes widening at the sight before him, a room completely turned upside down. Theo was partly angry because he had to sleep in that same room as Draco, and now it looked more of a shipwreck than a resting area. Draco who was leaning against his bed on the ground after breaking the mirror inside his wardrobe, merely looked up in annoyance, before rolling his eyes at Theodore and turning away, a disgusted look on his face.

'Sort yourself bitch, we have practice in 20,' Theo spat coldly, not intending to sort off Draco's rotten attitude.

'Does it fucking look like I'm going?' Malfoy stood up, punching the nearest wall next to him in anger, then shoving some books on the table to the floor and stormed out of his room, knocking Nott harshly on the shoulder as he passed the doorframe.

'It's Granger isn't it?' Theo called out, and Draco stopped in his tracks, turning around to see Nott leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed. He stormed up to the brunette boy and grabbed him roughly by the corner.

'You don't know any fucking thing, so stay out of my business or you'd end up looking like the room,' he snarled, threatening his former friend.

'Just stay away from her, the only good you are close to her is getting her hurt,' Theo shot a cold look into Draco's eyes grabbing Draco's hand to pull away from his own collar, but Draco held his firm grip.

'And why the fuck do _you_ care about her?' Draco spat back, his body urging himself to strangle him until he choked blood.

'I don't, but I know you do, don't you, I can see it in your eyes. You fell for the Mudblood!' Nott replied in a false surprised voice, forcefully releasing himself from Malfoy's clutches and then smirking at Draco, who in return grabbed hold of his head and shoved it against the door. Draco then took off to somewhere where he could blow off some steam, which was not the Astronomy Tower, definitely. Instead he proceeded to the Owlery, pleased to see that it was empty because it was cold and wet from the rain. Draco sniffled, wondering why they were going to have Quidditch practice in the middle of a ruddy storm. He wrapped himself tightly with his sweater, but was immune to the cold. He felt hollow, drained out of energy from his rage, drained out of emotion from his sorrow.

..

'What are you trying to say Zabini? Are you sure?'

'Yeah Granger, believe me, it's for his own good, and for yours too. Stay away from Draco.'

'How can I trust you, after you were the one who started the fight with him?'

'I was the one? Hell no, Granger. Anyway, I have connections with Death Eaters. I'm sure if he really cares for you, he wouldn't want to risk anything.'

'So, that's it? I'm never going to be able to talk to him?'

'Well, if you want him to continue leading you on, then by all means, you should continue, this, whatever you have. But don't get all sad when he has to leave you, because face it, looking at the circumstances after Christmas break he's a goner.'

'What makes you think he's the one leading me on? I mean, what makes you think that we actually _have_ something?'

'Don't try to hide it Granger, it's as obvious as wonder boy Potter's scar on his forehead,_ ciao_.'

**Well, if I can't make it to post on Christmas' Eve then Merry Christmas to you all and hope you had a wonderful year x  
>Enjoy (: <strong>


	15. Stay

Look Into My Eyes, And Tell Me You Love Me: Stay

Granger watched as Blaise left the library, taking his Slytherin aura with him, the very same Slytherin aura which she missed. Tall, mysterious, well-built and incredibly sexy; except she didn't think Zabini was as sexy as Draco, but close. The rain continued pouring outside, and Hermione couldn't rely on it to suppress her feelings any longer, as she felt like doing the exact thing the rain did: cry. Her heart grew heavy with Zabini's words in her mind, and she left the library with an aching heart. She wanted to go back to crying for days without end, because that way the pain was consistent at least. It didn't leave her for a period of time and then return again with an even stronger blow. She needed a way out of all this misery, but for now she would settle for crying. How miserable she was, she thought to herself. She strode her way towards the Astronomy Tower, but before she reached the stairwell she turned around, for she thought of the melted candle-wax along with the rug from the previous night. She couldn't bear lay eyes on that sight so long she wanted to get better. She was holding in her tears now, and it was getting harder and harder.

She made her way for the Owlery instead, because it wasn't possible that anyone would want to be there due to the terrible weather, and so she made her way there, trying not to look at anyone on the way. It was the evening already, and there weren't many students out in the corridors, which made her feel a little better since she didn't have to try so hard to be alone. But little did she know that the moment she reached there was when she saw a shade of platinum blonde hair leaning against the arch that separated the Owlery's balcony from the inside. She could recognise that hair anywhere, from a mile away, and she bit her tongue hard not to make a noise, but the tears streamed down her face faster than a raindrop could reach the bottom of the window. It was painful, to watch him so casually standing there with what looked like no recollection of the incident of the previous night. She turned around to hurry down the stairs, but as she dragged her feet down step by step she couldn't help but let out a cry, and it all fell apart after that. The echoes of her loud sobs went up to the Owlery and caught Malfoy's ear, who was still irrevocably infuriated by what had happened with Nott.

He knew immediately whose cry of pain it was, but he thought it was the cold wind playing with his mind the first time. But soon after that the second and third loud sob came ringing in his ears, and he quickly turned around facing the stairwell. He hesitated for about ten seconds before deciding to hurry down to comfort her again. Although his mind was telling him not to be so stupid as to fall for the witch's cries again. His heart seared every time he heard her painful cries. He reluctantly turned around to try to ignore the sorrowful sobs which he heard, but it wasn't long before he could take it anymore.

He rushed down the stairwell to find her hiding under the stairs, rocking herself back and forth as she clutched her knees close to her heart, crying her heart out. He and his heart stopped at the sight, the poor Gryffindor being everything a Gryffindor should not. He took out his cloak to cover her, and then sat next to her, exhaling deeply. He didn't know why he was there and why he cared, but every time he was inches away from Granger his mind shut off and his heart started thinking. He recalled the first time he went to her in the Astronomy Tower when he was partially intoxicated, and how she absent-mindedly leaned against him for comfort. It felt good to be wanted, but at that time she didn't know that it was him who was there for her. His heart sank when she distanced herself the moment she realised it was him, but somehow he got his hopes up with her calling after him as he tried to leave. It was the first time he had ever felt that way, so he didn't quite understand it yet. Hell, he still doesn't understand it now, and so he channels his confusion into anger, very messy anger.

Hermione felt the sudden layer of extra clothing against her skin, and stopped, to turn to look at Malfoy who was sitting next to her. Her heart sank even deeper this time, and she started crying again, putting both arms around his waist and crying into his chest. It was as though she wanted him to take away all the pain, and to just disappear from reality like they did last night. Draco was certainly shocked by her sudden gesture, but he lightly placed his arms around her, patting her back lightly; and for the next ten whole minutes her cries ranged from sniffles to loud cries, and as her tiny frame shuddered every time she did the tears seemed to be endless, but Draco didn't mind, although he must admit that his chest felt a bit queasy from his clothes which were wet from tears. He felt good to be wanted like that, not to mention her warmth over him and her arms around him.

Draco was deep in thought, and didn't expect Hermione to talk at all, but he heard her mumble something as she had the side of her face pressed against his toned chest, and he couldn't help but asked a soft _Pardon_ for her to repeat it again.

'Don- Don't leave me any, anymore?' she said in between sniffles, and Malfoy felt his heart suddenly beat with guilt, as he thought of his actions that very morning. Zabini had always told him that if he meant it casual in bedding a girl that he must always leave before she wakes up, so that she got the idea. But Granger, they hadn't shagged, so he had no reason not to wait for her to wake up. He felt the guilt pile up in his gut, and suddenly felt that he was the reason that she was crying so terribly. He swallowed hard and secured his arms around her a little bit tighter, to signify that he wasn't going to let her go.

'Shh shh. I won't. I won't' he rocked her gently until her tears finally subsided. After a few minutes, Hermione slowly pulled away from Draco, sitting upright next to him, their shoulders lightly touching each other.

She didn't want to turn to him, because her eyes were puffy and red, her hair all over the place and her face felt sore from crying. She was a total mess.

'Why did you leave this morning?' Hermione blurted out timidly. She bit on her lip and started toying with her fingers, expecting Draco to stand up and leave again without a reason. A part of her might've actually preferred rejection than the bitter sound of him telling her that he didn't want her silence between them was deafening, as Draco contemplated responding truthfully or to create a lie.

'I, was angry. I heard you saying Weasley's name when you were sleeping,' Draco admitted reluctantly. He figured that if he were the one who made her cry, she at least deserved to know why he walked out on her this morning. Thinking about it again, it was stupid for him to walk out like that, after all he could've just confronted her about it when she woken up. Hermione's eyes uneasily widened immediately, recalling her nightmare the previous night.

'I was having a nightmare, about, you, and Ron,' Hermione turned away, embarrassed that she was still having foolish nightmares at her age. 'And it's quite blur now, but, but it came to a situation where I had to choose, between the both of you…' her voice trailed off, uncertain of how to continue. Malfoy suddenly turned towards her, interested in it.

'So, uhm, who did you choose?' he casually turned away immediately after that, trying not to look like he cared about what happened in her dream although he was eager to find out what her subconscious chose.

'I- I didn't get to the end of it, I woke up,' she bowed her head down and bit her lip, thinking of Zabini's words to her. She wasn't supposed to talk to Malfoy anymore, let alone hug him and cry into him, again. _Déjà vu, stupid_, she thought.

Draco stretched a bit, to try to get into a comfortable position being next to Granger. He let out a breath into the cold air, putting his arms to himself from the cold. He almost regretted giving his cloak to Granger, but didn't think too much about it, because he didn't want any regrets now. The whole day had been a big regret already, and now all that's left is to mend everything properly.

'Is that why you were crying?' Draco dropped the question of the elephant in the room. After watching Granger turn to an unresponsive state after the words left his lips, he mentally smacked himself in the head, trying to tally about the amount of things he regretted doing today, all starting from the morning. He figured that she thought that he was going to be the same prick like he was before, self absorbent, proud and uncaring. He would've raised his wand to hex himself if Granger had used that reasoning to decide that she didn't want to be close to him any longer, and the silence was burning him to the core.

Hermione on the other hand felt indifferent about the question, already expecting him to ask it. She pondered on the thought of telling him that she knew what he had to do this Christmas, and it was actually tearing her to pieces that she had to lose yet another person to them, those sodding Death Eaters. Screw the fact that she was secretly admitting that she wanted Malfoy in her life, does that really ruddy matter now? He was going to be gone any fucking way. What's the point of fighting them if they can just pluck anyone you love so easily? At this point, she could almost understand how Harry felt, but Harry had it worse. His parents were taken from him even before he could say his first words, and then Cedric, although they hadn't been close, he was still a friend. Next was Sirius, and Ron, which brought him to the brink of exiling his emotions completely because they couldn't be damaged any longer. Merlin only knows who they'd take next.

'No, not entirely. Sure, it wasn't the best way to wake up alone, but no, it's not the reason,' she answered briefly, waiting for Malfoy to ask for more. In her head she was trying to phrase the fact that she knew as delicately as she could, but it wasn't an easy thing to mention, and she could only imagine how he felt about it. What if he was eager to get it over with so that he can truly become one of them? Suddenly she felt like the person sitting next to her was a complete stranger, who she didn't know much about, and it felt strange, and suddenly she felt so uncertain of herself. All the doubts started coming back to her, and she couldn't push away this time. Draco Malfoy the Death Eater. That's a hard pill to swallow; a boy who she grew up with for the past six years, now a Death Eater.

'Granger what are you thinking about?' Draco tilted his head towards her, instincts telling him something was wrong with Hermione.

'Nuh-Nothing,' Hermione shook her head and tried to adjust her face expression, now conscious that it was what gave her away every time she thought about something a tad too hard. Her response was shaky, and Draco obviously didn't buy it. He exhaled sharply, his lungs partly constricted by the cold air and his mind trying to hold his breath long enough to wait for Granger to say something to him.

'Don't lie Granger.' He said sternly. Somehow, it was in a Malfoy's nature to care for a person that way. It didn't express much of the emotion he really felt, but the intentions were true. Simply, it wasn't in his nature to open up so easily even if he wanted to treat someone dearly.

'Can I ask you a question?' Hermione bit her tongue and hoped that he wouldn't overreact when he found out that she knew, which was highly unlikely because he was Malfoy anyway.

'Do I have to answer if I agree?'

'You can choose not to… I guess,'

'Then go on,' He granted permission. Hermione took a few moments to phrase what she wanted to ask him, and then took a deep breath. _Here goes nothing_.

'You know that your father is a-' her stomach cringed, 'Death Eater, and.' She didn't know how to continue. She didn't think it would be that hard to just get it over with, but there were so many variables to take account for. His reaction, his answer, the way he acted if after he heard it, and most importantly the relation between them after all the questions were put aside.

'Just get straight to the point,' Draco said, feeling uncomfortable with her reluctance to continue her sentence. He was just going to straight up tell her to spit whatever the fuck she wanted to ask out, but a part of him stopped his tongue from uttering those words. A part of him felt that it wasn't wise to go harsh on her.

'If you had a choice to become a Death Eater, would you become one?' she blurted it out as fast as she could, trying not to let out the slightest hint that she knew. Draco threw his head back and let out a sigh. Ah yes, the reason why he needed Granger in the first place, to get over _that_. His heart throbbed heavily, and the answer was simple, abso-fucking-lutely _not_. If only his parents were the one asking that question instead of Granger. A choice would be bloody pleasant now, and if he did have a choice, he would've picked any option except for the one which he was left with now. He swallowed hard and thought about the time he had left as a free man. To think that even before he had a chance to reach adulthood he had his path already chosen for him, and a dark path of that.

'No.' he replied bluntly. 'Absolutely not.' He ended, refusing to elaborate more on the subject which could possibly lead to him telling her that he was going to become one, regardless of that he wanted for himself. Although, he was curious on why Granger wanted to know. Had she judged him to be a bad person? It wasn't surprising though, because it wasn't until recently had she been civil towards him.

'Why?'

'Nothing.' Mafloy growled in frustration. It was impossible to get through to this woman.

'Granger, if you're thinking so bloody hard about me then you better start telling me about it' he said, but Hermione closed her eyes and leaned her head back, not wanting to respond to anything Draco has to say to her.

'Did you mean it, Malfoy?' Hermione suddenly asked out of the blue. Somehow their conversation seemed to skip subject due to Hermione, but Draco had no other choice but to comply.

'Mean what?'

'That, you won't leave me.' She replied softly.

'Yes,' he said almost immediately, and then reached over to hold her hand. Hermione leaned her head against his shoulder, loosening her necktie to take out, and eventually falling asleep on Draco's arm. It had been a bad day for her, and the weather wasn't doing its part. He lay his head gently against hers and tried to rest, too. All the energy took to exert anger had drained out easily, and he hadn't eaten anything the whole day. The sky had finally turned to night and although the heavy rain had subsided to a light drizzle, and now it was more of a comforting sound instead of a disturbing one. Draco found himself jolted awake from a sudden nightmare about becoming a Death Eater. He turned to Granger who was fast asleep, and he observed her blankly.

Almost, too perfect, to move from that position. She looked so calm and peaceful. Something which was rarely seen in the likes of Hermione Granger.

'Legillimens' he whispered, and he concentrated on the things which had happened just this morning. He saw everything, from her nightmare to History of Magic, throughout the day and finally, in the library. He saw how Zabini told her that he was going to be a Death Eater and that it would be dangerous for her to be around him due to her blood status. He witnessed as his former best friend lied about the Death Eaters coming after Granger if they found out she was a bit too familiar with him. That fucking bastard had asked her never to see Draco again, and to distance herself from him. He was absolutely infuriated at that point. He felt his blood boiling underneath his skin as he saw Blaise Zabini tell his Granger to avoid him.

Yes, _his_ Granger. Fuck all, now he wanted Granger even more.

He kept on looking for further contact with Zabini, but instead he met a wall which he did not dare try to break in case he had waked her up. He was curious about it though, about how in an unconscious state she could store away part of her memories from anyone else. _Oh, the wonders of Granger._

Unknowingly, Hermione had blocked herself from thinking of all the good and bad time she had with Ron, of Lavender, and of what she heard about Dumbledore's plan in the hospital wing because all she could sum up from that was confusion. It only brought pain and sorrow to her, and so she blocked it out from herself just to prevent herself from crying. But Draco, he was different. He was the only proof that she could feel happy again, and so he was the only thing which she could think of. Well, until her little chat with Blaise, that is.

Letting the spell fade, Draco found himself a bit light-headed after spending so much time rummaging through Granger's head. He close his eyes and sighed, still angry about what he saw.

_Blaise Zabini, I'm going to fucking kill you._

**MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! :D since I wont be posting for a week after this, here's a more relaxed chapter for you guys :B  
>Till then, Enjoy! Loves x <strong>


	16. Revealed

Look Into My Eyes, And Tell Me You Love Me: Revealed

The next morning was greeted by many whispers of girls and the morning sun shining on Hermione's face. She opened her eyes to a view of almost ten Slytherin girls- some who were watching her very closely and others who were whispering to each other- and felt Draco's warm body against hers. Her neck felt fairly stiff but she wasn't going to move it if Draco was still leaning against her. But Malfoy's eyes shot opened almost instantly after hers, feeling a slight discomfort of his current position. His left hand gingerly holding on to Granger's and his head leaning on hers.

He slowly lifted his head from her, absorbing the view in front of him. He couldn't see much because there were a crowd of people standing around him, but he knew he was in the same place as he was the previous night. They have slept through the night, surprisingly. It was a miracle that they hadn't been caught by Filch for not being in their separate dormitories. The girls in front of him were staring at the both of them in astonishment. He had to admit that they were an odd pair to be found together, and the people around them were not helping. He peered over to Granger's necktie on the ground, and picked it up to stuff into his pocket.

'Out of my way at once!' a scream came from the back of the crowd which caused Hermione to lift her head from Draco's shoulder. Feeling that Hermione had stopped leaning against him, he stood up immediately, because he recognised that scream.

A pug-faced brunette pushed her way past the rest of the Slytherin girls to get a clear view of Malfoy. Draco's mood changed the minute he saw Pansy's face_. Great, what a brilliant way to start the day,_ he told himself.

'Draco! What are you doing?' she shrieked in horror as she saw him standing next to Hermione, who was now trying to clear some knots from her hair. Draco merely rolled his eyes, frustrated that he had to wake up to hear a shrieking Parkinson in the morning.

'Come on Granger, let's get some food,' he put a hand down towards Hermione, who took it almost immediately, desperate to be away from the prying eyes of the Slytherin crowd.

'Drakey! What?' Parkinson tailed them as they walked away quickly towards the Great Hall.

'Ignore her,' Draco said softly. The last thing he would want to do is to explain himself to anyone, let alone Pansy.

'What? Don't walk away! What's she got you under? Some love potion?' Hermione's eyes widened, as if Pansy told the truth. Even so, she kept walking, which became more of a slight jog as Draco pulled her along to escape the brunette behind them. They squeezed passed the crowded corridor, hoping to lose her. Tough luck though, to lose track of the only platinum blonde in the school accompanied by the unmistakable bushy brown hair of a certain Gryffindor. Draco bit his tongue and ignored Pansy. He would never snap at a girl or hit her, but Pansy was really driving him over the edge.

'Wake up! Don't you realised you're holding that, MUDBLOOD?' Pansy shouted. Draco stopped in his tracks. The eyes of everyone around them widened, some of them were even outraged at this point. If any of the Weasley's were still here they would beat her to a pulp. Everything happened very fast after that. Draco let go of Hermione and charged towards Pansy, almost banging into her, shoving her into the nearest wall, strangling her by the neck. Then he lifted his hand up as if to slap her across her face, but he stopped. He balled his hand up into a fist and dropped it, exhaling deeply.

'Don't.' he said harshly, looking at Pansy's horrified face as she choked for air. Her face was reddening by the lack of oxygen and it took him a great amount of self control not to strangle Pansy at the spot. But he tried to keep cool. Parkinson on the other hand looked very scared to see Draco treat her that way. The look in his eyes could kill. Hermione merely stood in shock, for she had never seen this side of Draco. Obviously, she had not seen what he had done to his room the other day. A part of her was frightened by his sudden behaviour, but on the other hand she was quite pleased that he stood up for her. Yet, she stood there where he left her, unable to say anything or do anything.

'What are you all looking at!' he shouted to the students around them who stopped to witness the scene. They quickly turned to any other direction possible and continued on with their own business. Pansy walked away hurriedly too, coughing up a small sob as she left. Hermione was left in the middle of all the commotion, looking at Draco who was trying to contain his anger by breathing deeply.

'Are you okay?' she managed to mutter out as he walked back towards her.

'Never better,' he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then opened them back and smiled at her. Her heart melted. As far as she could remember, he never smiled at her before, for any reason. He had such a wonderful smile. It wasn't those wide broad ones, nor was it his usual smirk. This smile was warm and caring. She couldn't help but smile back at him.

'I'll catch up with you later, promise. I have to settle something now.' he put a hand in his pocket to feel that her Gryffindor tie was still there.

'Oh-Okay then,' she bit her lip.

..

'ZABINI!' Draco shouted the moment he spotted his dark skinned house mate at his Common Room. The other Slytherin's who were lounging comfortably about were shocked by Malfoy's screaming. Zabini on the other hand carefully stood up and tossed the book which he was reading onto the couch and looked over to the blonde who was calling his name.

'Whatever this is, we can settle it outside,' Blaise replied considerately, after observing the faces of several frightened First Years. Draco obliged and walked out after catching a last glance of his fellow housemates, daring them to look at him now. He went out and leaned against the brick wall as he waited for Blaise.

'What the fuck was that about?' he crossed his arms and glared at Malfoy.

'Oh I don't know. What were you doing talking to Granger?' Malfoy replied with the equal tone of anger in his voice.

'Now I can't talk to girls?' Blaise sniffed and rolled his eyes.

'YOU FUCKING KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT ZABINI. HOW COULD YOU TELL HER?' Draco lunged forward and shoved Blaise into the wall. He couldn't believe that even when they weren't exactly friends anymore, he would go around telling people how he was about to be a Death Eater. How would everyone in school feel after they know that he's about to be a potential threat to everyone? Draco was bursting with anger in his veins, but Blaise was just the opposite. He suavely recollected himself, and then smirked at Draco.

'So, you're scared of how she sees you now she knows what you're going to become?' Blaise snarled. He was actually right, though. A part of Draco was afraid that Hermione wouldn't want to be close to him once he's a Death Eater, but a majority of him was just pissed that Blaise sold him out.

'NO!' he bellowed, trying to hide the fact that Blaise was right. 'I JUST WANT TO FUCKING KNOW WHY YOU HAD TO BUTT YOUR FUCKING HEAD IN AND RUIN EVERYTHING! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU PLAYING AT ZABINI! ARE YOU FUCKING IN LOVE WITH GRANGER? CAUSE YOU CAN FUCKING HAVE HER IF YOU WANT TO!' he shouted. But the minute the words left his lips he regretted them immediately. He just offered Granger to Blaise, of all people in the world. He didn't want to let go of Granger, he promised her that he wouldn't. The small thought was pushed aside quickly to be replaced by even more anger as he watched as Blaise reacted to the situation as if it didn't affect him at all.

'You really care about her don't you?' Blaise replied rather coolly despite being yelled at a moment ago. Malfoy opened his mouth to reply but no words come out. He wasn't quite ready to admit it to anyone else. Only recently he accepted that he felt something for Granger, but he wasn't ready to wear his heart on his sleeve and announce it to the world. Although, his little scene with Parkinson would've told onlookers more than they should know.

'Anyway, it doesn't matter anyway. I don't care about Granger at all. Just doing Theo a favour.'

'Th- Nott?' Malfoy was confused and surprised.

'Surprise, surprise. It is not I whose after your Gryffindor lion cub, it's Theo.' Draco stood in front of his former friend, flabbergasted.

'Why Nott?' Draco's eyes widened. Theo had never had any contact with Hermione before as far as he could remember.

'Beats me. But he's absolutely obsessed with her. `Been sending her corny secret admirer gifts to her, too.' Blaise chuckled at the ridiculous Theo could act. He shook his head but Draco was still puzzled. He tried to recall every moment he spent with Theo to find a possible gesture that might suggest that he was the one who was in love with Granger.

'That is why you beat the crap out of me?' Draco demanded.

'Yes. Exactly. You catch on pretty fast.' Blaise retorted sarcastically.

'Why couldn't you just tell me to lay of Granger if Nott's so desperate to get her then? And why the hell are you in on this!'

'Easy blondie.' Blaise stretched his arms. 'First of all, Nott didn't want to let anyone know. Like you, he isn't ready to admit it anyone yet.' Draco stared at Blaise with his eyes wide open. Was he that easy to read? No. He was Draco Malfoy. No way. Has she made him vulnerable? 'I just happened to be there when he wanted to send his first gift. He's waiting for the right time to confess to her. I'm in this for my own personal reason.'

'This is personal, so you better spit it out.' Draco snarled. He wasn't about to be the only one with a secret.

'Fine, fine. If you really want to know so badly, it's because I get an excuse to talk to a smokin' Weasley.' Blaise waggled his eyebrows at Draco.

'Your sanity has left with your taste Zabini.' Draco smirked.

'Speak for yourself. Who's the one who spent two whole nights with Granger?'

'How?'

'You see our friend Nott here,' Draco glared at Blaise. 'I mean my friend Nott here, saw you two in the Astronomy Tower. That chap was pissed alright. I think he went to some weird secret room in this bloody school to cool off. And please, don't act as if you're oblivious to the fact that you were seen in public asleep with her. News travels faster here than a Firebolt.' Blaise concluded. Draco was lost for words. All this time he thought it was Zabini who was after Granger, but he was actually acting on Theo's behalf.

'Fucking chicken.' Draco cursed under his breath.

'Now now, there's nothing wrong with being romantic, unlike some people who's just in for the shag.' Blaise smirked.

'I'M NOT FUCKING IN JUST TO SHAG HER!' Draco bellowed, but Zabini's smile broadened.

'I knew it.' Blaise replied with a smile. 'You fell for her. Wow, and I thought I'd have to give you some Veritaserum to make you admit that. Well well, what do we have here? Draco Malfoy has feelings? Oh no, Rita Skeeter had not get her hands on this piece of information now shall we?' Blaise seemed to be enjoying himself as Malfoy was on the brink of exploding like a Blast-Ended Skrewt.

'Fuck, you.' Malfoy looked at him darkly, trying to control his temper because his lack of control of anger gives Zabini a fair amount of satisfaction.

'But I'm not Granger! Oh, right. You're in the whole 'make love' game now. I forgot.' Blaise smirked jokingly.

'Well at least I'm not after a Weasel. Who knows, you might've fell in love with one of the relatives who decided to keep his hair long!' Draco replied, as he couldn't help by chuckling to himself.

'Bloody arsehole.' Blaise shook his head and chuckled along with him.

'Prick.' Draco extended his hand to Zabini and he clasped it.

'So, Granger…' Zabini's voice trailed off as they heard footsteps approaching them. They haven't been too far away from the outside of their Common Room when they began their conversation, and it was by luck that no one had passed their way since. A familiar female figure approached them, and Draco turned away the moment he realised who it was.

'Hey Pans.' Zabini called out to cut the awkwardness but Parkinson merely looked over to Zabini then focused her view on Draco. Her eyes were slightly red from crying and she wore a pitiful look on her face.

'Blood traitor.' She muttered after the portrait swung open to grant her access to their Common Room, her eyes not leaving Draco. Malfoy simply pretended as if he never heard her, because if he tried to act on it he might just kill her at the spot. His temper was pushing its limits before he managed to calm down in front of Zabini.

'Whoah.' Zabini exclaimed.

..

'Hermione Hermione Hermione!' Ginny was rushing towards her through the crowd of people as Hermione was making her way towards her own Common Room after Draco left her.

'Ginny!' Hermione replied in shock. She hadn't even thought about how she was supposed to explain herself if Gin were to find out about her and Malfoy caught asleep together. Her stomach cringed as she recalled the faces of all the girls in front of them gossiping to each other. News does travel fast in Hogwarts.

'Th-they they found him!' Ginny said, panting as she reached Hermione.

'Him? Ron? RON?' Hermione's eyes widened in happiness and shock. Her mouth gaped opened and her happiness was building up by the second.

'Yeah! I mean, we know where he is now,' Ginny's voice toned down, sensing that Hermione's excitement spiked higher than it should have.

'For sure? They know where? They're absolutely certain?' Hermione's tone didn't change though. She was happy that at least now they knew that Ron was alive.

'Yes, and he's alive. Thank Merlin!' Ginny let out a sigh of relief as Hermione still couldn't believe her ears. Ron, alive. Ron. Ron. Her mind fluttered to a state of happiness as she could now tell herself that without doubting whether or not it was true.

'So where is he?' Hermione blurted out, which she would later find out that she really didn't want to know the answer.

'Malfoy _bloody_ Manor.' Ginny replied with the sound of disgust in her voice. 'Can you believe it? All this time Malfoy had my brother held ruddy prisoner in his own home and nobody knew! That slimy git played along like it didn't concern him. Even Dumbledore didn't suspect that ferret.' Ginny concluded.

Hermione's heart sank and all the excitement died down at once the moment the word 'Malfoy' left Ginny's lips.

'Yeah, that bastard…' she replied softly.

She felt betrayed.

***Cue epic music!* So now we all know who the real Secret Admirer is and Hermione know's where Ron is! Oh no. Yes, this means an even more confused Hermione. -le sigh- :D haha. Hope you guys enjoyed it.  
>Loves x<strong>


	17. Doubts

Look Into My Eyes, And Tell Me You Love Me: Doubts

Sitting on the floor with his legs crossed, a boy with messy dirty blonde hair which spiked up on several ends, giving him a rather rugged look, along with green eyes stared emptily at a mirror in front of him. The mirror was full-length and quite large, and it was the only occupant of the empty room. The boy stared into the mirror, but the reflection which was projected back to him was not his own, but a more older version of himself, standing next to a pretty lady with curly brown hair which matched her eyes. In her arms were an infant child, a baby girl with the same curly brown hair as the lady but who had green eyes like the man standing behind her. The reflection looked somewhat like a happy family, for all three members were grinning ear to ear at each other, and the man occasionally bent forward to plant kisses upon the cheek and lips of the lady, who blushed slightly when her husband did so. The child would laugh and clap her hands together looking at her parents. The boy looking at the mirror sighed and stared intently at the lady, where suddenly he noticed that there was another face in the mirror, but it didn't belong to the current scene. It was the reflection of the younger version of the pretty lady in the mirror. The boy turned back to see a slender figure standing not far from where he was, and she was a spitting image of the lady in the mirror, except that her brown curls were longer and a bit more frizzy, her face untainted by the effects of age.

'So, what do you see?' she asked him to clear the awkward silence, staring straight into the mirror.

The boy panicked. For a moment there he thought that she could see the same thing that he did. He hesitated before lying to her, telling her he sees himself as captain of the English Quidditch team. She laughed at his response, shaking her head at how simple boys could be. He flashed a half-hearted grin at her, almost grateful of the magic that lied in the Mirror of Erised. After all, how could he respond with ' I see myself married to you, and we have a beautiful baby girl that looks exactly like her mother.'

Potions was particularly awkward today, with students grouping together whispering amongst each other. The Hufflepuffs were being particularly shady, and Harry had no choice but to be pulled into their little gossip group.

Apparently news that Ron is being held captive in Malfoy Manor had spread like wildfire, turning it into more of a rumour than the truth. To make matters worse, those rumours were usually accompanied by the sightings of Malfoy seen sleeping next to Hermione, bringing most of them to the ridiculous conclusion of Draco kidnapping Ron just so that he could force Hermione to fall in love with him. The conclusion, of course was illogical, for there was no reason why the Slytherin Sex God of Hogwarts would want to pull strings to get to a Gryffindor, let alone Hermione was Muggle-born. Hermione walked into the Potions Room, having constant stares thrown at her direction which were followed by whispers. She felt like a bug under a microscope, the freak in midst of everyone else. Little did she know that she was only facing half of what Draco was forced to face. She held her books tight to her chest, trying to suppress the ache in her stomach from skipping breakfast. She sat at her appointed place, next to Draco, and hastily opened a book to read, trying hard to ignore the people around looking at her.

She lifted her head every time she heard someone walk in, hoping that it was Draco, but at last she caught eyes with Harry who was looking at her from another table. The boy looked confused and disappointed at the same time, and it didn't take a lot of knowing to figure out why. Granger bit her lip, her mind racing to find a loophole from the damning confrontation which was about to come. There was no running now. How could she? Harry was her best friend. If she couldn't explain it to Harry she wouldn't be able to do it to anyone.

Harry didn't break eye contact with Hermione, just walked over to her, his eyes burning with the need to find the truth within the rumours which were around. Hermione steadied her breathing, trying to stop her heart from banging against her chest.

'Good morning class! Now if you please...' Professor Slughorn entered the classroom, his hands gesturing towards the students who were standing in groups to return to their places. Hermione nervously turned away, thanking the gods that Slughorn came in right at the breaking point. All she had to do now was to find a way to smoothly tell Harry about her more 'intimate' relationship with Malfoy. It wasn't easy, to be frank. It wasn't easy at all to tell your best friend that you're in love with his enemy. But at that moment, Hermione had forgotten everything when Draco walked in with Blaise. He looked more relaxed than he did this morning, but his face bore a serious expression. He had noticed the prying eyes of other students too.

He made his way to sit next to Hermione, surveying the class to look for anyone who dared judge them together. Somehow, Hermione felt safe when she was around Draco, like no one could hurt her that way. On the other hand, she still felt betrayed that all this time, Ron was in his very own home, and he was now more of a threat than anything else, unless, they really were rumours. She was torn between wanting Draco to be innocent, and wanting Ron to be found. Throughout class, she turned towards Draco who seemed to look like he didn't know anything about Ron being in his basement, or where ever they may be keeping him. He may bear the killing look of a demon, but deep inside Hermione could see his innocence.

'What's a matter, Granger?' he asked her, while they were listening to Slughorn talk about the dangers of some kind of seemingly harmless potion.

'Nothing.' She replied bluntly. The fact that she saw him at his worst this morning only bolstered the fact that he may be the culprit behind the disappearance of Ron, and it sent chills down her spine. Had she been blinded by his charm? Was his appearance just a mask? At this point, she didn't know who she could trust anymore. But when all odds were turning her away from Draco, telling her to treat him as an enemy; she looked at him again, and she saw a boy who actually cared for her. She couldn't explain it to anyone, but she just knew. She just knew that he had no part in this, and while many may call her biased if she try to explain it to them, she would still believe her own heart. Truth be told, she was in love with Draco Malfoy. That was the only explanation between them. If she would just admit that she was in love with him, everything will make sense. But no, she couldn't. Feelings should not be taken account for in such serious matters, it would only jeopardise the whole situation. Thus, instead of admitting her feelings, she would rather be so confused, so torn between both sides and willing to suffer. All because of that one feeling. All because of love.

Draco just left the matter as it was, for he knew how fragile Hermione could become, after witnessing three outbreaks of sudden crying. He figured that if she wanted to tell him, she would, but it was tearing him apart seeing her so worried all the time. Sure, he didn't went in depth to try to understand what she was so worried about. _They're girls, they over think_, he told himself.

After class, Hermione simply smiled at Draco before leaving Potions, holding her books tightly to her chest again, signalling that she didn't want to leave with him. Draco didn't mind, anyway. He was getting fairly annoyed by the other students trying to gather pieces of information on what is happening between them. He left with Blaise instead.

'Harry, wait!' Hermione shouted across the corridor, when Harry left Potions alone. Seeing Hermione so comfortable with Draco Malfoy would only confirm the rumours of them being together, and believe it or not, Harry really didn't want to know the explanation now, but reluctantly, the bespectacled boy turned around to face Hermione, furrowing his brows.

'Can we go somewhere quiet to talk?' she suggested.

Hermione explained everything to Harry, from the moment Draco comforted her in the Astronomy Tower, to the kiss, all to the morning. She told him how she felt at first, and how she feels now, and how she can feel that he feels the same way towards her. Throughout the whole conversation, she has been meticulous not to use the big 'L' word, and refer to it as 'having feelings'. She expressed how confused she was about it, of whether she would be betraying Ron by reciprocating feelings towards Malfoy, or that she can't stop herself from feeling a certain way towards Draco.

Harry, the poor boy, found it hard to absorb all of what she had said at once, and simply nodded in response, trying to fit the pieces together. He was always the understanding type, and Hermione had been grateful that she was having this talk with him instead of Ron. Ron would have shouted at her before she could get to the end of the explanation and she would be left hurt.

'So, you're asking for my approval?' Harry finally managed to speak, after a long silence between them when Hermione had finished.

'Wh-No!' Hermione denied instantly. However obvious it was that she and Draco had feelings for each other, they weren't together, and so it was dangerous to jump to conclusions that they are.

'Well, then. I don't know what to say `Mione. I can't tell you how to feel, but it seems like Malfoy is nice to you. This doesn't change the fact that our best friend is probably rotting in his house.'

'Harry!' Hermione shot an angry look to him, because it was terrible to refer to Ron as if he had died.

'Okay, sorry. It doesn't change the fact that our best friend is in his house.' Harry corrected himself. 'I don't know why you love that bugger, but-'

'I don't love him, I-' she stopped, nodding at Harry to allow him to finish speaking.

'But, if you feel that he actually feels something for you, test him. Ask him about Ron. If he cares for you, he would care that you care about Ron.'

'But, but what if he thinks I like Ron? Remember how jealous he was just because I said Ron's name in my sleep?'

'Well then, maybe you just have to lunge on top of him and snog him until he doesn't think about that anymore.'

'Harry!' Hermione playfully smacked Harry on the arm.

'I'm sorry `Mione. I'm still getting used to the fact that we are speaking of _the_ Draco Malfoy here. I know it's going to take some time to accept his sudden change of heart, but I still have suspicions, and if you say you feel that it's possible, however highly improbable, that he's actually good, then fine. I can't say I fully believe you. But, if you are right about the feelings part, then lunging on top of him to snog him would probably change his mind about anything!' Harry stifled a chuckle while Hermione smacked him on the head with her Potions book.

'Not helping!' she frowned at Harry. All her hopes of clearing the confusion of the current situation were shattered when Harry offered no advice at all about the matter. Although, she was very relieved when she saw how calmly Harry accepted the news.

'Well, lets see. You have feelings for Malfoy-' Harry was careful not to use the big 'L' too. 'But you have feelings for Ron, too because he's our best friend and you used to like him, and you feel like you're doing something wrong when you're being nice to Malfoy, but yet you can't stop yourself from liking him.'

'Something like that...'

'Blimey 'Mione, no wonder Gin's been saying you look like your head is about to blow. I feel my head going up with smoke even trying to understand your situation...' Harry tried to joke, but Hermione wasn't satisfied until she had this settled.

'Well, let me as you one thing, Hermione. Do you know what you want?'

'That's the problem! I don't! I want so many things but it's all impossible to have altogether. I want Malfoy to be innocent, but Ron to be found. I like how Malfoy treats me but I want Ron to be able to accept it. I want Ron back, and all of us to be friends again, without Draco being jealous. Am I wrong, Harry? Am I the bad person for wanting so much?' Hermione sighed and slumped her shoulders, leaning against Harry. He reached out a hand and gently rubbed her back.

'No 'Mione, you're just human. But if you want to know what you truly want, I think I can help you.' Hermione's face lighted up and she sat up from leaning against Harry's shoulder, looking at him with full interest.

'The Mirror of Erised.' Harry announced with pride of his own idea. 'It shows you what you truly want, and we all know that every person only truly wants one thing. I see my parents every time I went there back in the days.' Harry smiled.

'Harry you're a genius! Why didn't I think of that myself.'

'Well, maybe, I don't know, maybe you've been thinking of several hundreds of things which is enough to make an average person's brain blow up into pieces.' Harry comically made the hand gestures of a person's mind exploding, along with the dramatic sound effects. Hermione laughed and smacked her friend again.

'Thank you Harry, I really don't know what I'd do without you!' Hermione stood up to hug Harry tightly, before running off to the room which contained the Mirror of Erised. She hurried up flights of stairs, eager and excited to finally be able to clear the clutter in her mind, but when she reached the room, there was already someone there. Theodore Nott was sitting in front of the mirror. Hermione silently walked up behind him to the mirror itself, but she was obviously standing at the wrong angle for she only saw herself in the mirror.

'So, what do you see?' she asked quietly, to announce her presence to him. He was very immensed in whatever he saw in the mirror, and jumped a bit when he turned to see her standing behind him.

'I, er see myself. I'm captain of the English Quidditch team, and we er, we just won the World Cup.' he concluded. Hermione laughed at his response and shook her head.

'What are you doing here, Granger?' he regained his Slytherin-like composure and spoke confidently towards her, smirking flirtatiously.

'Just wanted to know,' she replied vaguely. 'If you could just...' she moved her hands signalling for him to move away.

'If I could just, what?' he stood up quickly, turning towards her. Their bodies were inches away and his bright green eyes were staring intently at her.

'Er, step away...?' her voice trailed off, swallowed by fear. Theo didn't look like the intimidating type, but more of a bad boy look, with messy hair and thick eyebrows which complemented his eyes, and thin pale lips; but Hermione could sense that he was on to something.

'You're really pretty, you know?' his thin lips curled into a faint smile, and he took a step forward towards her. Hermione backed up a step, refusing to be any closer to Nott. His eyes weren't fierce and demanding, instead they bore a soft, wanting look, as if he were looking at Hermione like she was on a pedestal. It was a look of innocence, like he wanted to admire every bit of Hermione.

He slowly approached her and she carefully stepped back with every move. She reached a pillar and she let out a scream when she bumped into it. Theo's expression changed to a concerned one, and he reached out to Hermione to hug her.

'I'm sorry... I didn't mean to scare you. Please don't be scared.' he said softly. Hermione's eyes widened in shock, and she couldb't move, but Nott's hug wasn't forceful, nor was he grabbing at anywhere inappropriate. Instead it was a soft, caring embrace. He reached down to kiss her forehead gently, and then dipped his head low to catch Hermione's lips in a kiss. His thin lips pressed gently against hers, and she was a tad too shocked to move at all, as his tongue gently nudged her lips apart to gain access to her mouth. He moved his lips smoothly against hers, his tongue ever so gently caressing the insides of her mouth; his movements caring and swift, when all of a sudden the door slammed open, and a too familiar voice bellowed,

'WHAT THE FUCK NOTT!'

The next thing Hermione saw was Theo being pulled away from her and being shoved straight into the Mirror of Erised.

**So... Yeah. I could've continued, but NAH, next chapter :B  
><strong>**Loves x**


	18. Pain

Look Into My Eyes, And Tell Me You Love Me: Pain

'So you're telling me that you choked Parkinson with something else which was not your dick?' Blaise commented after Draco finished telling him about the previous day, from the confrontation with Nott to the Pansy situation.

'After everything I told you, all you care about is whether I really strangled Pansy?' Draco spat at Blaise, and his ridiculous sense of priorities.

'Hey, I mean it's a big thing. Never heard of anyone choking her before. I mean, maybe one or two rumours of guys using a choker on her during sex, but this is different. You actually strangled her!' Blaise exclaimed in a tone of amazement.

'You-just, argh. So what's your deal with Weasel's sister?' Draco asked as they walked back to their Commom Room.

'Well, lets just say shes absolutely hot, and she's a Quidditch player, so obviously she's fit. Plus, she looks like she can ride a broomstick pretty well, if you know what I mean.' Blaise waggled his eyebrows.

'You're a whore, Zabini.' Draco replied bluntly. Suddenly, they heard a scream coming from one of the rooms above of them.

'Did you hear that?' Draco asked, his pace fastening towards the direction of the noise.

'Yeah, probably some third year who fell for Peeve's pranks.'

'No it's not. It's Granger,' and Draco sprinted up the stairs and passed several empty rooms before he reached the one where Hermione was in. To his horror, he saw his lover pushed up against a pillar, her arms laying limply by their sides. Her body was wrapped by Nott's arms, and to Draco it looked like he was forcing his lips onto Granger's, his body pressed up against hers. At that moment rage overtook Draco.

'WHAT THE FUCK NOTT!' he bellowed, and pounced forward to grab him by the shoulders, ripping him away from Hermione and shoving him head first into the Mirror of Erised. The dirty blonde crashed into the sacred mirror, falling on top of it, causing it to lose balance and topple onto the hard floor. A loud crack was heard, and Theo slowly collected himself from thw ground. He hadn't stood up for too long before a punch was thrown towards his direction from Draco, who was eager to disfigure his face. Theo dodged his punch and ran into Draco, pushing him hard against the wall. Draco was much stronger to him, and he grabbed Nott by the collar and shoved him into the wall instead, before kneeing his stomach. Draco was stronger but Theo was no weakling either. He stood up and grabbed Draco's ear in a single movement, punching him in the face before kicking him back in the stomach. Draco retreated a few steps from the blow, and spat out blood. After that he charged forward into Theo, ramming him to the ground before sitting over him, punching his face over and over again. Theo clawed at Draco's face for Draco's weight was on him and he was too weak to stand up, but Draco didn't care.

Hermione and Blaise stood by the side in shock of the fight happening in front of them. Hermione was wrong to think that him assulting Pansy this morning was him at his worse. He had never seen Draco so angry before, so eager to destroy Theodore. She was already too shocked to move when Theo had kissed her, but now all of a sudden a fight has taken place in front of her eyes, safe to say Hermione was in no condition to do anything except to absorb the scene happening in front of her. She wanted to call out for Draco to stop, but her voice seemed to be stuck in her throat.

'What's this we have here.' an elderly voice sneered, but Draco ignored it, still continuously attacking Nott.

Filch went forward to tear Draco off Theo, who was bleeding rather badly now. Hermione looked at Draco, with fear in her eyes. She had never seen him this way before. His usually well groomed hair was messed up, his face had several scratches, stained with dried blood; his uniform was torn at the shoulder and dirty, and the worst part was that his knuckles were bloodied, with Theo's blood. Hermione's eyes dropped to his knuckles, those soft hands which once held her with so much care, now stained with violence.

'You 'kay?' he mumbled, the cuts around his mouth restraining his speech. Hermione couldn't reply, for she was still in shock of what had happened. Her eyes fell to Theo, who was groaning in pain on the floor. Scarlet red blood was flowing from his head, and he looked too weak to stand up by himself. Blaise went over to help him up, figuring that rather him than Filch support him.

'Come on, all of 'ya.' Filch motioned. Hermione reluctantly went to support Draco who was losing blood too. She let him drape his arm around her for support, and it took her alot to ignore his bloodied knuckle so close to her face. The whole time they were walking to where ever Filch was bringing them to, Hermione tried not to look as afraid as she actually was.

'Granger... sure yor o'ay?' Malfoy asked again. Hermione turned to him, fluttering her lashes at him to hide back a few tears derived by fear. She managed a faint smile and nodded half-heartedly, trying to look strong. He saw her expression when he was beating Nott up. She was afraid of him. He felt like a monster from the way Hermione was acting around him. His heart swelled up as he watched her act so coldly towards him, but he didn't regret anything he had did to Nott. Granger was his. His and only his. No one else should be allowed to touch her, let alone kiss her.

Filch brought them to Snape's office, which lucky for Hermione, McGonagall was there too. The old Gryffindor head had quite a shock when she saw two injured Slytherins, along with another boy and most importantly her model student.

'Miss Granger if you could relieve us by explaining the situation.' McGonagall ask worriedly, peering over at Theo who was losong blood fast.

'On second thought, Mr. Zabini, please take Mr. Nott to the hospital wing this instance.' Blaise nodded and took Theo away, leaving Malfoy with Granger.

'Well?' Snape asked impatiently, leaning against his desk and folding his arms. He looked embarassed as he looked at Malfoy, ashamed that a student from his house behaved so badly, and McGonagall was there to witness it all.

Hermione changed the story for the sake of saving Theo from embarassment. She told the teachers that she and Nott were just talking when Draco came in, and then Theo did something to provoke Draco and they started fighting. Draco stood at the side silently, unintending to correct her to avoid being in deeper trouble than he already was. After that the two teachers and the caretaker took a quiet discussion, leaving the pair of them for a moment. Hermione finally plucked up all the courage she had, and decided to be supportive of Draco; not of his actions before, but by understanding the reason why he did so.

She took a plain handkerchief from her pocket and turned to him, gently dabbing up the blood which was still glistening on his face. He winced in pain as Hermione tried to clean up the blood, but he didn't say a thing. He just looked at her gratefully with his grey eyes, searching for any hint of fear in her expression. At that point he was more than ready to tell her that if she didn't want anything to do with him anymore, she could leave. He didn't want to force her into anything she didn't want to do, for it killed him every time he saw her forcing herself to be proper for him. To be honest, he preferred the hard-to-handle crying Granger than this false forced one. She gently dabbed away the blood from his face, but was unwilling to bring herself to clean up Theo's blood on his knuckles. Draco leaned in to kiss Hermione but before their lips would meet they were interrupted by the teachers.

'As punishment for your misdeeds, you will have detention with me and Professor Snape throughout the Christmas holidays.'

'Wuh?' Draco mumbled.

'If you are aware, Mr. Malfoy. Your actions have caused serious damage to the Mirror of Erised, an ancient mirror which has been in our school since the Founders!'

'O'ay, o'ay,' Malfoy rolled his eyes, but he saved his long list of profanities for the inside of his head, for his face hurt too much to speak.

'As for you and Mr. Zabini...' Snape's voice trailed off, looking directly at Granger.

'I reck'n we punish 'em too. After all they were adda crime scene.' Filch spat. McGonagall looked over to Snape, who was looking at Draco's cuts on his face. The Gryffindor head then looked at Hermione, whose eyes were filled with fear, along with her innocence.

'I trust Ms. Granger, and she is smart to know right from wrong. There is no evidence suggesting she took part in any of this, but should she decide that she deserved the punishment, she has a choice to do so.' McGonagall finished, looking into Hermione's eyes, searching for a hint of appreciation. She found plenty. Hermione's eyes were widened in surprise, and she couldn't believe that McGonagall would give her an option not to sit for detention.

'As for Mr. Zabini, though. I believe it's up to you, Severus.' Snape pursed his lips and thought about it for awhile, before announcing his decision of having Blaise to serve detention as well. Although Severus never mentioned it, he wanted to keep Zabini there in case things went out of hand between the other two blonde Slytherins, even more so if know-it-all Granger decides to stay back too.

'Very well, now Ms. Granger, if you please, take Mr. Malfoy to the Hospital Wing before he passes out. I believe Professor would not be very pleased to have a wounded student sprawled over his floor.' McGonagall said quickly, blinking as she looked at Draco's condition. Hermione nodded at the teachers and turned to bring Draco to the Hospital Wing.

..

'Ah said 'um fine!' Draco inched away from Madam Pomfrey as he lay on the cot in the Hospital Wing. Hermione had been quite careful as not to put him too close to Theodore, who was still too weak to sit up by himself. It had been two days since the fight, but Draco had suffered several injuries that could not be cured easily because there were new injuries, and the previous ones had yet to heal themselves completely. His usually flawless pale face had a big scratch ranging from his temple through his cheek, and the other lighter scratches had scars which were easily fading away by now. Lucky for him, he got to skip classes, and Granger would come round to tell him what to do. Sometimes Draco would ponder about whether Hermione helping him sort out his homework was a good or bad thing, for he could never have another chance to skip classes again, and here he was in the Hospital Wing, doing homework.

Hermione on the other hand, was more than happy to help him sort out his homework and teach him, although sometimes they might steal a few gentle kisses if no one- meaning Madam Pomfrey, for she was pretty strict about having Draco's face heal as soon as possible- was looking, and Hermione eventually became more comfortable around Draco after the incident.

Harry had come to accept Draco a bit more, with the condition that Malfoy no longer tries to provoke him for any reason at all. Draco had to bite his tongue to drown the urge to insult Harry, but he couldn't hold it back the moment Harry was out of hearing range, earning him a soft smack by Hermione's Potions book. He took advantage of the situation by yelping out in pain as though she hit an injury, which caused poor Hermione to become frantic, and her apologies flowed out endlessly until Draco started laughing at his lover, amused that he had tricked her. Her eyes then widened with rage and she retorted by holding up her History of Magic book, almost twice as thick as the Potions book, and held it above his head, ready to drop it down to allow its weight to crush its victim.

'Ay now Granger, I'm oraydee physically injured. Why don we pud der book down so I don't get ment'ly injured too.' He put his hands above his head, in case she really did decide to drop the book. She was standing over him in his cot, as his abdomen was still healing from Theo's kick to his stomach. He didn't react much to the blow at that time from the distraction of all his rage, but it cracked one of his ribs. He sat there on the cot, his legs firmly planted on the ground as he bent his head down. Hermione looked down to Malfoy as his grey eyes squinted, preparing for the heavy object to strike upon him. She exhaled sharply and dropped the book on the cot next to him.

'That's muh girl.' He snaked his left arm around her waist and pulled her in to sit on his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gently pecked his lips, before pulling her head back, arms leaving his neck. Draco leaned forward to kiss her again, but Hermione put her index finger against his lips.

'No. You're not getting away with that,' she smiled cheekily and left his lap, stifling a giggle as she watched his flabbergasted face looking back up at her.

'You evil, evil woman.' He squinted his eyes and looked at her, before bringing his legs back on the cot, using the History of Magic book as support for his feet. Hermione let out a giggle as she saw him settle himself back on the bed.

'You deserved it, Mal-' but before she could finish her sentence she saw a big eagle owl swoop into the Hospital Wing, dropping a letter on Malfoy's lap.

'Ah fug,' he rolled his eyes as he opened the letter, stuffing his fingers in his ears as the letter floated into the air and formed a mouth.

'DRACO MALFOY! WHY HAVE I COME TO KNOW THAT YOU HAVE GOT INTO A DETENTION FOR RUINING SUCH AN IMPORTANT HISTORIC PIECE OF SCHOOL PROPERTY?-' a manly voice boomed through the letter and echoed through the Hospital Wing. A Howler. Hermione had saw one of those send by Mrs. Weasley in the second year for stealing the flying car. This time, it was the voice of Lucius Malfoy, a rather angry one of that.

'Save your compliments to the school you bastard! We're not in the damned Great Hall!' Draco rolled his eyes to the Howler.

'AND NOT ANY DETENTION, ONE WHICH REQUIRES YOU TO STAY BACK FOR THE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS! HAVE YOU NO RECOLLECTION OF YOUR DUTIES THIS CHRISTMAS?' Hermione cringed at the word 'duties', as if becoming a Death Eater was Draco's responsibility. 'I _WILL_ TAKE THIS MATTER TO MY HANDS AND SOMETHING WILL BE DONE TO CLEAN UP YOUR ACTIONS. BUT UNTIL THEN, DARE YOU GO AROUND CAUSING ANYMORE TROUBLE, YOU WILL KNOW.' And with that the letter shredded itself into pieces.

'SON OF A FUCKING WHORE!' Draco swore, and slammed his fist into the bedside table, smashing the vase of flowers next to him. Hermione jumped a little when she heard the loud sound of glass crashing, but bit her lip and approached Draco, who was so angry his chest was heaving from the heavy breathing.

'Draco it's going to be okay, don't-'

'DON'T FUCKING WHAT? I KNOW YOU KNOW GRANGER. I KNOW BLAISE TOLD YOU. DON'T TRY TO TALK ME OUT OF THIS AS IF EVERYTHING IS ALL GOING TO BE FINE. WELL YOU'RE WRONG BECAUSE IT'S FUCKING NOT. I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY I TRIED TO THINK THAT I COULD WISH MYSELF AWAY WHEN I'M WITH YOU. YOU JUST FUCKING DESTRACTED ME FROM REALITY, THAT'S ALL. DON'T YOU SEE? I CAN'T FUCKING ESCAPE THIS, AND EVEN IF I GODDAMNED TRIED, THE BASTARD WOULD MAKE SURE I'M TIED DOWN. YOU DON'T FUCKING UNDERSTAND!' Draco scolded, and the other students occupying the Hospital Wing turned to him with shocked stares and open-mouthed glances. Hermione bit down on her lip harder, taken aback by Draco shouting at her. But as soon as the words left Draco's mouth, he regretted them immediately as he saw Hermione's expression on his face. She looked down on the floor, chewing on her bottom lip now, blinking furiously to keep back the tears. She toyed with her fingers before looking up at Draco again. The look that she gave him killed him that instant. It was a very forced look, a cold face which she made whilst trying to force back all her emotions. The worst part was that this time Draco knew he was the one who made her feel this way, that he was the cause of all the pain going through her mind at that moment, and it felt terrible. It felt like being kicked in the gut by Nott, only a hundred times worse.

'Hermione, I-'

'Oh, I-I'm just a distraction that means nothing to you am I?'

'I didn't say-'

'I don't understand? FINE! I don't! I don't understand why you can be so nice to me, how you can just stand there and manipulate my feelings for you, of how you can just LIE TO MY FACE THAT MY BEST FRIEND IS BEING HELD CAPTIVE IN YOUR HOUSE JUST AS WE SPEAK!'

'What are you-'

'You're right. I'm wrong. I _actually _thought you cared about me.'

'Hermione I didn't mean-' but Hermione had already grabbed her bag and ran out of the Hospital Wing, crying again, the sounds of Draco's roars echoing in her mind.

She ran and ran until she found somewhere empty and quiet, and over there she began crying, heart beating hard against her own chest. She felt like ripping it out, rip out the goddamned thing which caused her so much pain and sorrow so that she wouldn't feel anything anymore. It hurt so much, with Draco's words piercing her heart, and the previous memories flashing through her mind. She gave up. She couldn't do this anymore. She just couldn't.

**heh. hi. I hope you guys didn't find it as hard to read as I to actually write this chapter. Yes, I'm sorry it has to stop here ): Schools starting like freakin' tomorrow and I'll be updating once a week. [We'll see but you guys might get longer chapters. Not a promise, but hope I can manage to write, or in this case type.]  
><strong>

**Thank you all for reading this throughout my whole school holidays when I wrote this, and hope you would all bear with me until the next update (that is if I don't die in school from depression lololjk :D)**

**Loves x **


	19. Need

Look Into My Eyes, And Tell Me You Love Me: Need

'What are you all looking at?' Draco snapped at the students around the Hospital Wing which were looking at him. He needn't shout at them, for the whole place was quiet and the echoes bounced off the walls easily. He tried to pull himself off his cot to chase after Granger but his abdomen restricted him from getting on his feet. He swore under his breath, bitterly and unwilling he lay on his cot, allowing all his emotions and regrets drown him in a sea of sorrow.

..

'You just _fucking _distracted me from reality.' these words echoed in her mind the most, and it seemed to be the most painful part of Draco shouting at her because she honestly believed that it were true. And the only reason why she believed it to be true was because she was doing the same to him. She knew in her heart that when she were with him, she shut herself off from her problems and pains, and the world had decided to leave her alone in the arms of Draco Malfoy. Secretly, she thought what she was feeling was love, but no. Now she was almost certain that Draco was more of a drug than a partner, almost.

She couldn't stop thinking of him, not that she tried to shut him out this time, because every thought of his flawless face to his warm body just added to the pain, like someone was throwing darts straight for her heart.

_Stupid girl. What use is getting 'O' for all her O.W.L's if it didn't teach you how to handle daily problems? Fighting the Dark Lord, fine, fairly prepared for that, but what about the normal things. Not to mention now it doesn't make sense how he's supposed to be under a love potion. Maybe anger does trump-_

_Love potion_. Amortentia. If Draco was under the influence of it, he wouldn't have yelled at her, unless, unless it had worn out already. Hermione cried even harder this time, for the fact that she found out that she had fell for a boy who only fell for her because of a love potion.

..

It had been a week after the row that Draco and Hermione had in the Hospital Wing, and it was the first Quidditch match of the season. Traditionally, Gryffindor played Slytherin to open the Quidditch Tournament of the year. Amazingly, both Draco and Hermione had kicked back into their daily lives enthusiastically. A bit too enthusiastic if one would pay attention. Hermione had gone to organise D.A meetings at every possibility, tripled her reading list till she was reading about things like the uses of parts of animals known to be extinct (it was an old copy found in the library) to some other things which are out of date or rubbish, just to fill all her time. The time she spent eating had reduced greatly, and she usually gulped down her food and hurried off to the library.

Draco on the other hand was doing pretty much the same, keeping himself busy. He was next in line to be captain of his Quidditch team, so he trained hard and did well to prove to the other team members that he deserved his spot. He ran extra laps and flew around, forcing himself to stop abruptly and make sharp turns to improve himself. He has been studying too, but not in the library of course. Days which weren't spent at the pitch were spent cooped up in his own room, drowning himself with facts. His food was sent up by Zabini, who had reluctantly done so, but felt sorry for the bloke- although he would never admit it- so he usually brought back some food and left it at Draco's bedside table. If anyone were to ask why Blaise brought food back after every meal he would say that he's keeping a very dangerous animal as a pet, and it needed feeding.

Both Malfoy and Granger had little contact with anyone else, speaking very little to anyone at all. All their time and energy were spent, to the point where they could just fall asleep in bed, exhausted. They left little room or time for themselves to think, which they were trying to push away. Sometimes when little pieces of memory tried to seep through the iron walls they had put up in their mind, they would grab something to do or read something to keep their mind off it. Needless to say, they weren't over it. Even during classes they tried their best to avoid each other. One leaving much later than another, both not drawing much attention to each other, and they both never walked around in class. It was like they were both ghosts throughout lessons.

..

On the day of the Quidditch match, Hermione had no choice but to go to the Quidditch pitch, just to support Harry and Ginny- actually Ginny had forced her to come to get out of her madness-, along with keeping up her effort on showing everyone that she was alright. She woke up, trying to remember what she read yesterday in Ancient Runes word by word. She got ready quickly, hastily brushing through her hair and getting dressed. She was putting on her shoes when a gush of wind blew in through one of the open windows and scattered a stack of Hermione's papers onto the floor. Her first response was to dive for every piece of paper, not thinking fast enough about a spell to put everything back in place. She dived for some notes and reached out for some pieces of parchment that when she picked up the last piece of parchment, it was a letter, Malfoy's letter. The one which he had gave to her when he wanted to meet her at the Astronomy Tower _that_ night, that beautiful night. Hermione swallowed hard. She tensed up herself to stop any outbreak of emotion which she knew was on the brink of, but eventually failed. Wave by wave all the emotions started pouring back into her mind. She needed Draco, so badly, so much that it ached, but why would he want her? Why would a Pureblood, perfect boy want someone like her. She had no appeal, nothing on the table for anyone to like her. That's why she believed so much that Draco was under to influence of a love potion, because she would _never_ believe in herself. She sat by her bed and wept quietly. She _needed _him.

Draco smoothed his Quidditch robes and looked himself in the mirror. He glanced at his reflection for the first time in that week. His cheeks were slightly hollowed from eating less, and his abs were much more profound from the intensive practices he has been having. His body, now even more muscular and lean, worked as compensation for any emotional flaw, or so he thought. As he looked at himself in the mirror, he noticed a faint scratch scar on his face, and thought immediately of the previous week. For a moment there he thought he saw Granger at the back of him, and stumbled backwards onto a pile of clothing.

Running a trembling hand through his hair, he stood up and began piling up his school robes, when a glimmer or gold material from one of the pockets caught his eye. He pulled the cloth out, which turned out to be Granger's Gryffindor tie which he had pocketed from the other day. He crumbled to the ground as he held the tie in his hand, then held it to himself to inhale the sweet vanilla scent which he knew belong to Granger. He took a deep breath, but as he exhaled it came out as broken shudders, a tear leaked from the corner of his eye.

He snapped. Though it was justified that Malfoy men did not cry, Draco was a boy after all. He was lost, and in pain and fear with nothing to be happy about. Well, once upon a time he had Granger, but he pushed her away too now did he. Draco Malfoy, alone. The bitter truth about that tightened around his heart that he wasn't capable of caring for anything, as though everyone he got close to would simply crash and burn. He was his own curse, and Granger was his cure. He _needed _her.

..

Theodore looked himself in the mirror. His eye was still swollen from Draco's massive beating, and his lips still now back to normal. If he would do it again, he would, just for the sake of being able to kiss Granger. Theo never found how he came to fall in love with Granger, but he just did. He suddenly began to notice her, about her cute habits and little things she did, but Malfoy. Malfoy was a problem. He couldn't stand in his way of having Granger, no. Granger was his and his alone, and he knew just what to do with Malfoy. He had already set it up. Charmed a bludger during one of their practices (an idea he got from Potter in second year), and all he had to do now is just watch it beat up Malfoy, simple. The Granger problem had actually half-solved itself when Malfoy decided to shout at her in the Hospital Wing. If Theo could smirk back then, he would've done so. It was to his own advantage that Malfoy treated her so terribly. But secretly he was jealous that every day Hermione would just skip past his cot to get to Malfoy, and all he could do was watch her. If Granger were his, he would cherish and love her, not yell at her for no goddamned reason. Thus, his plan would work flawlessly, or so he thought. As Nott put on his Quidditch uniform and laced up his boots, he smirked to himself, Granger was his. Well, not immediately. First he would admit that he was her Secret Admirer, and slowly, Granger would fall in love with him. He was almost certain about that.

..

'Dobby?' Harry looked surprised when he found a house elf doing backflips on his bed just as he did when he were in second year.

'Mister Harry Potter!' Dobby's impossibly big eyes widened even more when he saw Harry.

'What are you doing here?' Harry asked, surprised at seeing Dobby.

'Dobby has come to give Mister Harry Potter somethings which is very important.' Dobby stood on Harry's bed, slightly wobbling, reaching into one of his brightly coloured jackets to pull out a pocket watch. Harry's eyes widened.

'That is…'

'Mister Weezee's watch, Mister Harry Potter!' Dobby jumped off the bed, handing over the scratched circular watch to Harry. It's glass has been cracked and the time stopped, but Harry knew at once that it belonged to Ron.

'How did you get this, Dobby?' Harry mumbled, unable to believe that Dobby actually had contact with Ron.

'Oh is long story Harry Potter! Dobby squealed, his voice rising with excitement. Harry nodded for him to continue.

'You see, Dobby was at old master's home, to see some elves. But Dobby was caught by Mister Malfoy, and he throws Dobby into dungeon. Dobby found Mister Weezee there, and knew that Harry Potter would miss Mister Weezee. Dobby cans apparate in and out of dungeon even though protected by magic. But Mister Weezee. Mister Weezee was tied by metal rings full of Dark Magic. Dobby would tear Mister Weezee if he tried to bring Mister Weezee out of dungeon. So Mister Weezee gave Dobby his watch to bring to Harry Potter. He asks Dobby to tell Harry Potter where Mister Weezee is, and that Harry Potter tell Professhor Dumbledore to looks for a ways to break a curses called 'quolom nepotes', because is only ways Mister Weezee can be free from metal rings.' Dobby ended, his ears flapped close to end his enthusiasm.

'Colom napotase?' Harry furrowed his brow, tilting his head to look at Dobby

'Quolom nepotes, Mister Harry Potter! Is same curse thats wizards puts on all house elves thousands of years ago! Nobody knows hows to ends the curse, different every time puts on different persons. Very tricky, Harry Potter! Very tricky indeed.

'And you're saying that Ron has been locked to the dungeon with this curse? How do you know?' Harry asked, heart pumping with blood.

'Mister Weezee says he hears Mister Malfoy telling Missus Malfoy thats Professhor Dumbledore cants save Mister Weezee because of Quolom Nepotes. Dobby knows immediately when Mister Weezee asks Dobby about it!'

'So what does Malfoy want with Ron if he's just going to lock Ron up in the dungeon forever?'

'Dobby doesn't know, Mister Potter. Dobby is very very sorry.' Dobby bent his head low and looked around for an object to hit his head with.

'Dobby no, it's fine. You done more than enough to help me! Thank you very much! I don't know where we'll be with finding Ron if not for you!' Harry replied quickly, before Dobby had a chance to punish himself. Although Dobby was now a free elf, he still had problems getting rid of old habits of punishing himself. Dobby looked up at Harry, his tennis ball eyes watering up, as he smiled and said goodbye. With the loud snap of apparation, Dobby was gone.

Harry didn't move for a full minute, trying to absorb everything that Dobby had said. Quolom Nepotes, Quolom Nepotes. His head was swarming with questions on what Malfoy wanted to do with Ron if not for blackmail? There had been no threats about killing him, and yet there he was, alive and still able to speak to Dobby. Harry had tried not to imagine Ron sprawled on the ground, bloodied, and not breathing. He was more than happy to know that Ron was alive, and not half-dead. It had been over a month already, looking back. A whole month, and Ron was still alive! The happiness that filled Harry's heart was bittersweet. He was happy that Ron was well, but still sad that he wasn't here with him. He had to put Cormac on the team as keeper just because Ron wasn't here. Harry felt very guilty to do so, secretly thinking that he should've kept that spot empty in memory to Ron, but that would just be an insult to Ron because he would've wanted Gryffindor to win the cup.

_Quolom Nepotes, Quolom Nepotes. I must tell Dumbledore._

_.._

'Are you telling me that your son is unable to fulfil his allegiance to me, just because of a simple school matter?' a voice hissed.

'My Lord, if-'

'NO!' the voice bellowed. 'There will be no changes in the plan! You will get him to me by the appointed time Lucius. How dare you try to have me compromise just because the Mudblood-lover has your son set up for punishment!' Lord Voldemort took his wand out of his robe, as he looked over at Lucius who was kneeling upon his feet.

'I'm sorry, my Lord. My son will be here. He, after all feels honoured to be in your service.'

'Oh? Is that so, Lucius. So the spawn is different from the father!' Voldemort said mockingly in his usually hissing tone.

'My Lord, I am equally honoured to be able to carry out tasks for you.' Lucius tried to sound sincere.

'Such lies, Lucius.'

'My Lord, I-'

'Keep your tongue or I will keep it for you. Now, the blood traitor boy, you still have him?'

'Yes my Lord, he-'

'Is he being fed well?'

Lucius hesitated for a bit before replying. 'Yes, my Lord. He is given two meals a day. But-'

'Good, you do know what his purpose is, do you?'

'Enlighten me, my Lord.'

'Your son will duel with him, to prove worthy of being in my service and to bear the Mark. If he wins the blood traitor, he would have passed the test. But should he fail…' Voldemort's voice trailed off

'My Lord, I beg-'

'Silence!' Lucius bowed his head even lower. 'Should he fail, Greyback can have the blood traitor, but Nagini would have a _special_ pureblood treat for dinner.' Voldemort smirked darkly while Lucius' eyes widened in shock, his face turning cold.

'Should you try to assist him in finding a loophole out of this duel in any way possible, this would be a reminder for why you shouldn't.' Voldemort pointed his wand at Lucius.

'_Crucio!_'

**Hello guys! I know, if you're thinking 'I waited for a whole week and I get a chapter with a cliffhanger at every $#&*! break' , don't worry, me too :B But on a lighter note, all of this will be combined together in a big bowl of mush in the next chapter, so let's just call this a filler :D**

**Again, thanks for waiting & now reading the chapter. Loves x**


	20. Love

Look Into My Eyes, And Tell Me You Love Me: Love

This was the the second time Lucius Malfoy had attended a Quidditch match in Hogwarts. The first time being when Draco was in his second year, and he had just bought the whole team Nimbus 2001's. This year he was using that as a mere cover to do something else.

'Severus.' He called out bitterly to the tall, stiff man with straggly raven colored hair.

'Lucius. I don't suppose you are here for a-' Snape eyes Lucius from head to toe, and he's wearing a more formal robe which was too fine and expensive to be used to sit on the rough wooden benches on the Quidditch pitch '-sports event.' Severus' voice trailed off.

'I am here to speak to Dumbledore about that ridiculous detention he has on my son.' Lucius sneered.

'It is to my greatest regret, Lucius. But the principal is rather-' Snape raised his eyebrow when Lucius made a move to reach for his wand in his robe pocket '- busy, now.'

Lucius, feeling impatient at the moment, lurched forward and shoved Severus into a wall. 'You listen to me Severus.' Lucius started in a desperate, whispering voice.

'The Dark Lord wants Draco, during Christmas, and he is to be a Death Eater, and I can't do that and be on good terms with this sad excuse of a school. I am to follow the Dark Lord's orders, and if you or anyone stands in my way I will not tolerate it.' Lucius let go of Severus harshly, never breaking eye contact with him. Severus' face expression was indifferent, as though he already knew about Draco's doom.

'What is that Mudblood-loving prune doing anyway?' Lucius sneered disgustedly.

'He's in his office, apparently he's in an important meeting with Mr. Potter.' Snape started walking past Lucius. 'But Lucius-' he looked behind his shoulder to Malfoy.

'Dumbledore won't change his mind.'

..

'Professor! Professor Dumbledore!' Harry ran to the Professor's office after taking a wild but lucky guess at the password.

'My dear boy, Harry. I am quite certain that we have a Quidditch match to attend, and you it's main player!' Dumbledore was ready to walk out of the office and make his way to te pitch when Harry strode in.

'Professor, we need to have a talk, now. It's very, very urgent.' Harry said, still panting. The headmaster nodded and took his usual seat, raising his eyebrows for Harry to start.

Harry calmed himself and began the story, repeating everything which Dobby had told him. Throughout the whole story, Professor Dumbledore simply waited patiently and nodded tonacknowledge that he was listening to Harry. At the end of it all, Dumbledore sighed and pursed his lips.

'I believe this is going to complicate the current plan, Harry,' Dumbledore pulled of his glasses and rubbed his temples.

'The current... Plan?' Harry asked.

'Ah yes Harry, a plan! A plan so subtle, so docile, but if it succeeds, creates such a great impact to everything and everyone around it that it alters the very fate of more than the person or in this case, people involved.'

'Professor, mind I ask why I was not told anything of this plan?'

'The answer Harry, is because the plan is a bit too complicated to explain but very easy to sum up. The plan Harry- and I know this would sound ridiculous now that I'm telling you- is love.'

Harry tilted his head to look at his Headmaster, 'I'm sorry sir, I don't think I quite understand what you mean.'

'Oh Harry, of course you do. What made you immune to Lord Voldemort's powers when you didn't know how to protect yourself? Why are you so different from Lord Voldemort although the both of you are so similar? And most importantly, why are you the only person alive from the Killing Curse, and got away with only a scar? Love Harry, love. You may not see it, but its power can create a ripple of incidents that change everything, completely. For example, your mother's love. What has it done so far besides protect you? Lord Voldemort was gone for an extended period of time, hope has been restored to the wizarding world. Lives have been saved and enemies destroyed.'

'Well that didn't help much now that we all know he's back again,' Harry replied bitterly.

'Yes, back, but we're prepared. You, are prepared, Harry. If you have died on that dreadful day along with your parents, the Lord Voldemort today would be much, much stronger. You see Harry, you are the only one who he sees eye to eye with, the only one he can't kill. With that, he becomes more careful, more cautious, thus, sparing lives of those of the wizarding world. All because your mother loved you.'

Harry took a moment to absorb everything that Professor Dumbledore had just told him. Since Voldemort had risen from the dead during the Triwizard Tournament, Harry had thought his mother's sacrifice was useless, and he hated himself for it. He hated himself for being there when Voldemort came back. But Dumbledore was right, all along.

'But sir, what do you plan to do? You can't make one person love another, can you?'

'It seems, Harry. With the right amount of authority and a little bit of luck, you can.'

..

Loud cheers from every house filled the pitch as a dirty blonde haired boy stepped out with his broomstick. He eyed the surroundings. The sun was blazing hot, shining down on the beige golden sand of the pitch. The goal posts glimmered in the sunlight, and it looked exactly the same since that boy had been in his First Year. The inaudible cheers of the students added to the fact that it was going to be yet another normal Quidditch match, and the blonde boy smirked to himself. Everything was going to go just as he planned.

He scanned his team mates, Pucey, Zabini, Carrow, Graham, Greengrass and some other new player who was so aggresive they decided to give the Beater position to him on the spot. Where was Malfoy? He looked over and over again but he couldn't find his face amongst the crowd. Where the fuck could he be?

'Pucey! Where's Malfoy?' he shouted over the rumbling crowd.

'He was. Wait. Son of a bitch! Where is he!' Pucey went back to the changing room, but their Seeker was not with them.

'Fuck this, the game's about to start. Wait here, I'm going ta get Hooch to give us a bit. Nott! Get Higgs to replace the bastard.' Pucey shouted back to him.

Theo rolled his eyes. Right. Higgs. Not only will the game burn down to ash, his plan is a goner too. He waited for a bit for a glint of white blonde hair amongst them but decided to get Higgs before the game started.

'Hooch's gonna give ten minutes because coincidentally Potter's a no-show too.' Pucey said with a smirk. The chances of them winning are higher now that Gryffindor's seeker is out of the way. Higgs was still dazed from having to play Seeker, but Nott ignored him anyway. His mind is fixed on hoping, almost begging for Malfoy's appearance, or that the charm on the bludger would seek him out and beat him to a pulp.

Madam Hooch released the Bludgers and threw the Quaffle, but Nott didn't even try to go for it. He watched a Bludger fly vertically upwards and then away from the pitch, out of sight. Theodore smiled. Maybe the match wasn't going to flop after all.

..

Draco stumbled while getting up, legs weak from the drain of emotion, hand clutching the tie like his life depended on it. He pulled his Quidditch cloak loose by the strings that tied it to him and he walked out. Fuck Quidditch, playing against Gryffindor barely had a good outcome except for the one time where Weasel sucked, but other than that playing Quidditch now would be too distracting, especially with Granger possibly being in the stands watching. He had a death grip upon the tie, and could almost swear that he felt Granger's soft skin instead of the fabric.

Draco walked out of the empty Common Room and through the dungeons, silently. He didn't bump into anyone for they were all out on the pitch anticipating the best match of the season, so he had no problem moving around no questions asked. He wanted to go to the Astronomy Tower and throw himself off of it, because what has he got to live for now? His father is probably bribing his way out of Christmas detention and Granger hated him all over again. His future was dark and his present was hollow, so why the fuck not? At least if he could come back as a ghost if he still wanted to be here, watching over Granger, watching her be happy. That would be the reason why he would rest in peace after death, knowing Granger would be happy, have a good life, marry a good man who's capable of giving her the world which she deserved and have beautiful know-it-all babies. Fuck.

Another tear leaked from the corner of his eye and his stomach cringed. He wanted to be that man.

The steps towards the Astronomy Tower were getting slower and more draggy, as he thought of what he were about to do. What if the Dark Lord changes his mind about him? What if Granger forgives him if he tried? Bloody mind-fuck, the moment he decides on giving up hope starts flowing back? He's fed up. Sick, tired, lonely but mostly fed up. His pain quickly turned to a channelled anger as he decided to strike down a torch which was on the wall with his wand. Draco was destructive when he was angry. All of a sudden a bludger came hurling his way but Draco being on the epitome of his nerves and reflexes saw it and responded almost immediately.

'CONFRINGO!' the Bludger hurtled and knocked against a column, causing bricks to fly, but didn't seem to be giving up.

'Reducto!' he shot at the Bludger, still shocked that it didn't go away after the first hex.

'Bombarda! Depulso! Diminuendo!' a part of the Bludger chipped off as it went back to the Quidditch pitch, turning into a marble sized version of itself.

'The fuck was that,' he murmured under his breath, realising that throwing destructive spells at a rogue Bludger was quite the remedy for a bad mood.

..

Hermione was startled by the soft explosion which echoed through the spiral staircase towards the Astronomy Tower. She quickly lift herself upon her feet and hurried down the staircase, only to be caught with nowhere to go when she crossed paths with a fellow student at the narrow staircase. Her heart beating hard, she swallowed, praying that he couldn't hear the banging of it against her crumbling chest.

'I was-'

'I just-'

'I need to-'

'Yeah, I-' They mumbled to each other while looking down, searching frantically for a tiny gap for either of them to squeeze through. Finally Hermione decided to back up against one side of the staircase, hands holding the railing as she looked over her shoulder, allowing him to pass without making eye contact with him. He blinked at her, aching to lean over to touch her, every bit of his body begging for her warmth. Without thinking much, he bent down to her and placed a light kiss on her cheek bone before inching pass her slowly. It took everything in him not to turn back to see her reaction, but his ears were open for any sign of reaction. There was none.

Hermione's eyes widened, the part of her which he kissed was warm from his lips. She tried to even her breathing to prevent him from hearing her, from hearing that she was now weak and tipsy from just a simple brush of his lips. Draco walked achingly slow up the stairs, waiting, just waiting for Hermione to respond in some way. Slap him, kiss him, scream at him or run away. He didn't care. He just wanted to know that he still meant something to her, anything. He was feeling rather regretful that he had so suddenly bent down to kiss her. Who does that anyway? She probably thinks that he was some stalker freak who can't get over her. It was partially true, especially the part where he couldn't get over her.

She was forcing herself to turn away and walk down, her legs heavy as she tried to take the next step down. She was going to act like it never happened, like he wasn't there at all. She was going to walk away again, because she thought she could. She was about to trudge down the next step when she turned around and bounced up the stairs separating her and Draco, hugging him from the back. Immediately she felt a rush of warmth throughout her body. The feeling was back again. She felt complete again. No hollow feeling in the gut. No more sadness or the need to distract herself from something. This is where she belonged. With _him_.

'Don't go..' she whispered against his back. Draco was initially shocked by her sudden move, but he had to do something to prove that he did care, that he wanted her back. Carefully dislodging her hands from around his own waist, he turned around and fastened his strong arms around her, pulling her into his warm embrace.

'I won't, I promised.'

**Hello lovely people, sorry for the delay and so but if I have time the next chapter would be up within this week because I have a really good idea on what to write already so for now hope this chapter is enough to pardon my absence and I'm in a rush so I apologise for the mistakes or so. Thank you again for reading **

**Loves x**


	21. Care

Look Into My Eyes, And Tell Me You Love Me: Care

He steadily fastened his arms around her waist, head dipping down to breathe in that wonderful scent of vanilla and mint. It seemed almost too real that all of a sudden Granger was back in his arms. He wasn't going to let go, not this time. He lifted her chin with two of his fingers, and for the first time in a long time, they made eye contact. His grey eyes weren't cold and harsh, instead they looked at Hermione as though she were on a pedestal. He tilted his head to catch her lips gently, not breaking eye contact with her as a form of asking permission to kiss her, and she responded by slowly snaking her arms around his neck. His skin tingled as it came in contact with hers, and he deepened the kiss as she pulled him into her. At that moment, there was no better feeling than that in the world. Her soft lips, so plump and moist, moving against his, as his tongue slowly slipped into her mouth, tasting her again.

The kiss started off slow and gentle, like they were afraid to break each other all over again, but it soon turned into a series of desperate kisses which were meant to satisfy the hunger that they have for each other after being deprived of it for the extended period of time. Running a hand through her wild brown curls, he firmly placed the other hand on her back, pulling her impossibly closer to her, while Hermione moved along his back, sending shivers down his spine. Their tongues fought for dominance as both of them couldn't get enough of the intoxicating taste of the other, and Draco resulted to lifting Hermione up, who in turn secured her legs around his waist, arms around his neck, as he carried her up the stairs.

He pinned her against the wall for support, having no control of the tingles being sent to his groin by the pressure of Hermione's legs pressing her body against his crotch. Breaking the kiss, he started to place chaste kisses on her cheek and then nibble at her ear, eliciting a soft moan to escape Hermione's lips.

'I'm sorry…' he whispered into her ear in between kisses. 'I'm sorry for everything…', then he dipped lower, kissing her jaw line and collar bone. 'I'm sorry…'

Hermione was breathing heavily now, eyes clamped shut, hands grabbing at Draco's back. She was about to pull Draco's face back up for another kiss, when she heard a deafening loud crack. It wasn't any ordinary crack. It was the sound of breaking bones.

'Draco?' her eyes shot open. Draco staggered sideways before collapsing onto the ground, unable to support his own weight. He hissed in pain every time he tried to move himself, breathing heavily and slowly as it was too painful to breathe. She stared at him, eyes widened and too shocked to move. She couldn't imagine what had caused the damage to. That's when she saw it happen. A full-sized bludger flew in from the open air and took another swing at Draco, hitting him in the head this time as it passed from one side of the Tower to the other. Hermione had thought it went away after that drastic hit but it didn't, it came back through the side which it left, but Hermione was prepared this time, creating a protective barrier between the cursed Bludger and herself with Draco. The metal ball continuously banged itself upon the barrier in hopes to break it, and Hermione knew she did not have much time to spare. She dropped to her knees in front of Draco who passed out from the blow in the head. There was sticky scarlet blood pooling next to him, and his platinum blonde hair was soaked with his own blood. His face was sickly pale, and to Hermione's horror it was cold too.

Hermione hurried to find a pulse, her hands shaking as she reached down to Draco's neck to find a pulse. There was one, but it was a series of slow, faint beats. Looking up to her barrier, she knew she didn't have much time, and she couldn't carry Draco down with the Bludger on his tail to attack him. In a state of panic, she closed her eyes and tried to think of the counter-curse to stop the Bludger first. The curse on the Bludger was strong, as it did not cease after it realised the barrier separating it from its target. But the target was already down? So what would make it stop? Wasn't the purpose of the curse to injure the target, because cursed items could not directly murder a person, only disable them in some way. Hermione was kept thinking of pages and pages of Charms and Spells, trying to figure out how to stop it. She looked over at Draco, the pool of blood was getting bigger and if she didn't stop it he was going to die. That's when it came to her. _Blood_. _The Bludger was sent for Draco, that would mean his blood. _

Hesitantly, she pressed her hands into the pool of blood then positioned herself in front of the Bludger.

'Finite,' The barrier slowly dropped and the Bludger hurled straight into Hermione's hands. She screwed her eyes shut, afraid that it would not have worked, but it did. The Bludger was twitching in Hermione's hands like a normal Bludger does, but it did not have intent to hurt Draco. She dropped the Bludger to the ground and then went back to Draco, who lay in his own blood, motionless. Granger wanted to throw up at the sight. His skull appeared crushed from her angle and it was a miracle that he was still alive. She didn't know a strong enough spell to stop the bleeding of this severity and at this point of desperation, her only choice was to carry him. She couldn't cast any charm or spell on him because his condition was too weak and it was too risky, so she had to carry him down by herself.

'Draco you listen to me, I know you're in there. Listen to my voice. Don't you dare go. Stay with me,' she practically shouted out her fear. She didn't want him to die, not because of some cursed object. She was going to bring him down whatever it took. Draping his arm around her shoulder, she leaned his blood stained head against her neck, and she clutched his good side- the side of him not affected by the Bludger- for support. Her legs were wobbly as she had to support the weight of this boy who was much heavier than her, but she used all her strength not to drop him on the stairs. Reaching the bottom, she started screaming for help. Her throat was raw and her body felt weak, but she couldn't give up, not until someone came to aid or she got him to the Hospital Wing. The corridors were empty as everyone was at the Quidditch Pitch, which disheartened her even more because not even the ghosts heard her cries.

'Draco, stay with me. It's just a little while longer, then they'll be able to help you,' she said breathlessly, but she was lying. She was far from the Hospital Wing, although she had brought them far away from the Astronomy Tower, and if no one were to help her soon, she wouldn't be able to reach it. Her steps were slow and heavy, her knees buckling under the weight several times, but she was determined. Drops of sweat had began to form on her face and she could feel herself become weaker and weaker.

'`Mione?' a familiar voice called out from the end of the hallway.

'HARRY! HARRY HELP!' she screamed, panting hard now as she was on the verge of falling over herself. Her knees buckled one last time and she trembled on to the brick floor, leaving the only thing preventing Draco from touching solid ground was Hermione's bleeding knee supporting her weight and Draco's.

Harry ran over to lift Draco's arm from Hermione, whose arms were shaking from the exertion. Her uniform was stained by Draco's blood, hair all over the place and stuck to her face by the sweat trickling down her temples. Her pants were reduced to heavy breaths as she collected herself and stood up, and secured Draco's head on her neck for support.

'`Mione I can take him. Just let go of him and come along, you need treatment too,' Harry suggested considerably, for Hermione looked like an utter mess.

'No, just, just start walking,' she said breathlessly. 'Draco, Draco stay with me. I know you're still in there,' she whispered.

Harry remained silent as they made their way to the Hospital Wing, deciding to save his questions for later. Draco lay limp between the both of them, and inside Harry feared that the boy would not make it.

..

_'Draco. Draco stay with me.' Granger? _

_Great, not another fucking hangover. How much did I drink? Merlin it's like someone drove a wand through my head. Why was I drinking anyway? Right, I was dreaming of Granger. In the Astronomy Tower. She asked me to stay with her. Fuck this._

'I demand to know how this happened!' _Oh fuck, that voice. _

'Mr. Malfoy, if you would calm down please. The only person who knew the exact incident is now resting,'

'You mean this, this girl?' Lucius Malfoy poked his cane at the direction of a girl who was sitting next to Draco's cot, her hand lightly held on to his. Draco slowly opened his eyes, his vision blurred at first but when it became clear he saw his father standing at the edge of his bed along with Madam Pomfrey. Lucius Malfoy didn't look the least bit concerned about his son. Instead, his face expression would have depicted that he was angry that the school would let such a thing happen to Draco. Yet, if there were a time where Draco had to choose one moment where his father was concerned about him, he would pick this moment, for Lucius had never seemed to lift an eyebrow any time Draco was injured until now.

'Yes, sir. And if you are going to be this restless I would suggest you wait outside until your son and Miss Granger wakes up.' The nurse replied, irritated by the elder Malfoy's attitude towards Draco's condition.

'This, is Miss Granger?' Lucius asked in a disgusted tone of voice.

'Yes she is, and she is the only reason why your son is still breathing this very moment,' Madam Pomfrey replied sternly, sensing Lucius' disapproval of Hermione.

'Very well, you are to contact me when Draco regains consciousness,' he ordered, prying Draco and Hermione's hands apart before storming out the Hospital Wing.

Draco wanted to link his hand back to Hermione's at that very moment to irritate his father, but his arm felt like dead weight and it took a few moments before his hand laced his fingers with Hermione's. Madam Pomfrey so happened to catch Draco's gesture and smiled, clasping her hands together.

'You know she came in here with Potter, almost crying as she explained what had happened to you. During your entire treatment, she insisted that she was right next to you. Even put up quite a fight when we tried to remove her from the Hospital Wing to get some rest. She was injured too when she brought you, but wouldn't let me tend to her until your condition was stable. You're a lucky man, Draco Malfoy. Treat her right.' The nurse ended, letting out a content sigh at the young lovers before walking away.

Draco peeped from beneath his lashes to see if the Matron was still there, and then peered at Granger who was fast asleep on the chair next to him. She looked calm, although there were still hints of dark circles under her eyes, she couldn't be more perfect at that moment. Draco found himself staring at her, for how long he wasn't sure himself, but he wasn't keeping track of time. It was until the moment where her lashes began to flutter when Draco realised he had been staring at her for quite some time.

'Hi,' she smiled the moment her eyes met his.

'Hello sleepyhead,' he managed a smile, although his body was stiff.

'How are you feeling?' her eyes scanned his body for any signs of injury, and to her relief she found none, except for the fact that his head was bandaged.

'Like a wand's been drilled through my head.' He responded jokingly, but Hermione took it seriously anyway.

'It hurt's that bad? Do you want some pain potion? Are you going to be alright?' she bit down on her lip, her eyes wide with worry.

'Granger, I'm fine. It's not as bad as it sounds,' he reassured her with a smile.

'Really? Because if there's something wrong you have to tell me immediately. Okay?' she wasn't convinced by Draco.

'Yes Granger, really. Calm down alright? I'm fine,' he started laughing. Hermione frowned at him.

'I was watching you die less than two days ago! You were about to just die and leave me and I couldn't do anything about it! You don't get to tell me to calm down!' she cried, her eyes reddening with tears. Draco had never seen Granger this way. She was scared, not she was terrified out of her wits for Draco, something which Draco had never experienced before because his family rarely expressed their concern for him.

'There, there. Come here,' he gently spread his arms and Hermione leaned in to lie on his chest, crying into his shirt. 'Shh, it's okay. I'm not going anywhere, remember?' he cooed in a silky tone of voice. Hermione turned her head to look at him, unsure of what he was speaking of.

'I promised, remember? I'm not going anywhere. Well, anywhere without you at least.' He winked. Hermione smiled and lifted her head up to kiss him on the lips, placing her hands on both sides of her face.

'Am I interrupting something?' Hermione broke the kiss to see Blaise Zabini standing at the edge of the bed, smirking at them.

'Bloody hell Zabini, was that necessary?' Draco growled.

'Actually no, but if you prefer that I stand here and look at you two go at it, be my guest. Maybe I'll get the knack of voyeurism,' Blaise raised both eyebrows cheekily. Hermione blushed at Zabini's words but Draco simply rolled his eyes.

'Zabini, ever the pervert.' Hermione stifled a laugh and looked away when she saw Blaise's face expression change.

'Right, what are you doing here anyway?' Draco changed the topic.

'Just came to check if you were breathing,' he replied casually. Of course, this was Blaise Zabini. He wouldn't admit that he cared even if he did, but Draco understood him.

'Well I am breathing, your consideration is much appreciated.' He said mockingly, knowing that Zabini was lying.

'Oh and uh, Nott sends his 'sincere apologies,' Blaise mumbled, scraping against the floor with his foot and looking down with his hands in his pockets.

'Theodore Nott?' Hermione tilted her head to look at Blaise, trying to meet his gaze.

'Er, yeah. He's the one that…' Blaise's voice trailed off, and he looked at Draco, pointing a finger to his own head.

'Nott was the one who attacked Draco?' Hermione stood up, furious.

'Okay now calm down Granger, but yes, it was Theo.' Blaise put his hands in front of himself, as Hermione looked as if she were going to pounce on him. Instead, she crossed her arms in front of her and bit on her bottom lip, thinking hard.

'What are you fucking talking about Zabini?' Draco growled, failing to sit up as his ribs were still healing.

'Nott charmed a bludger to beat the shit out of you,' Blaise put both hands on the bars at the end of the bed and leaned forward, sighing. Unable to contain his anger, Draco forcefully pushed himself up using his hands, only to crumble back onto the cot with a painful groan.

'Easy there,' Hermione rushed to support him, and propped him upright against the back of the bed.

'When I get my hands on Nott, he'll be-'

'Dead?' Blaise cut in sarcastically.

'Yes, dead.' Draco glared at him angrily.

'Wow, the apple really doesn't fall far from the tree then,' Blaise retorted immediately.

'Get to the point Zabini,' Hermione blurted out.

'He's under trial, Nott. Your father's charging him for attempted murder,' Blaise explained, gaining a gasp of shock from Hermione as she covered her mouth with a hand. Draco looked at his best friend in disbelief. Would Lucius go to such extent about the matter?

'But that would mean he's going-'

'To Azkaban. Yes, Granger. That is, if he is found guilty.' Blaise nodded towards the front door of the Hospital Wing. 'You see, Dumbledore's helping him wiggle out of it, since he's still underage and all. But your dad, mate your dad's making it hard.' Blaise concluded.

Draco lightly knocked his head back against the dashboard although it already hurt, and he groaned in pain when he realised it hurt more than he expected.

'That bastard…' he mumbled to himself.

'But Dumbledore can do it right? He'll get him out of it?' Hermione asked, her voice full of hope. Draco looked over to her, wondering why she cared to bloody much about the guy who nearly killed him, when he realised, this was Granger. She cared for everyone, although they didn't deserve it, like himself. She didn't have to stay with him but she wanted to. She didn't have to care about the Weasel because he had his tongue tied with Brown's anyway, but she still did. That was who Granger was; caring, sweet, considerate, and his, all his. He smiled at Granger- his Granger- and all his anger flowed away.

'Draco, mate. Dray' Draco blinked and turned his back to see Blaise waving a hand in front of his face. He raised his eyebrows in response.

'You have to convince your dad mate. Or Nott is in deep shit.' Blaise explained.

'I don't need to.' Draco looked down at himself for the first time. He could see his stomach wrapped tightly in bandages, and his legs lay limp by their sides on the bed.

'You'd let him go to Azkaban?' Hermione cried, her voice a mix of disbelief and confusion.

'No, of course I won't,' he answered Hermione calmly. 'Father's going to use that as a bargain. Nott's life for my detention to be revoked.' Draco sighed. His father's plan was quite obvious. There would be no other reason why he's putting so much effort to care about Nott's case. Draco wondered if he would secretly pay Nott for beating Draco up if it were in a different situation.

'Oh, wow. That's just…' Blaise's voice trailed out. He would not have thought Mr. Malfoy would be so cunning.

'Terrible…' Hermione completed his sentence, staring blankly at the brick wall opposite them.

'No, it's not terrible. It's absolutely disgusting. Which proves how much of a slimy bastard he is.' Draco rolled his eyes.

'Well, I got to get going now.' Blaise nodded to the both of them before leaving. Draco watched as Zabini walked out of the Hospital Wing, feeling trapped from figuring out his father's plan.

'Hey,' Draco turned to see Hermione smiling at him, her face much closer to his.

'Hello.' Draco smiled back, tilting his head to catch her lips in a kiss. Hermione sat on the cot next to him and put one hand on Draco's shoulder, deepening their kiss. They kissed passionately and their tongues moved in unison against each other, just like before.

'Draco Malfoy!' a voice shouted from the end of the bed. Draco knew this voice almost too well, and his stomach tightened at the sound of it.

Standing at the edge of Draco's cot in the Hospital Wing stood a man which Draco called father his entire life; Lucius Malfoy.

**Yay, turns out I did have time, so here's the next chapter (: **

**And to the lovely reviewer who asked me to get beta; yeah I would but I don't think anyone would want to do it ahahha x)**

**To everyone else, thanks for reading once again x Loves.**


	22. Chapter 22

Look Into My Eyes, And Tell Me You Love Me: Reality

Granger's eyes shot open the moment she heard Draco's name being called. She immediately tried to pull away from Draco, only to be forced into the kiss even more when he placed a hand at the back of her head. The younger Malfoy was looking at his father from the corner or his eye, aware of the disapproving scowl plastered on Lucius Malfoy's face. After a few satisfying moments, he dropped his hand from the back of Granger's head, and allowed her to retreat from his lips, her head lowered and unwiling to meet Lucius' gaze.

'Hello father, nice of you to drop by.' he smirked at Lucius. Hermione slowly turned to look at him, who was boiling with anger.

'Excuse my rudeness, love-' Malfoy continued faster before his father could respond. Placing a hand on Hermione's, he emphasised the 'l' in love, smiling at her, and then turning back to Lucius.

'Father, this is the lovely Miss Granger,' he introduced her in the most courteous and formal way, wearing a broad grin on his pale face.

'Ah, yes. It is a pleasure to meet you,' Lucius had no choice but to respond in the same manner, so as to not come across as rude or arrogant. He nodded respectfully towards Hermione, smiling falsely behind gritted teeth. The elephant in the room was more than obvious between them but Lucius now had no choice to point it out.

'If you would be so kind to grace me with a few moments with my son, there are personal matters which I would like to discuss with him,' Lucius requested in the same tone of voice which Draco used.

'Oh, er yes sure Mister Malfoy.' Hermione stammered, shocked at how nicely Lucius was behaving towards her.

'No, dear. Stay.' Draco commanded, firmly placing his hand on Hermione's lap to stop her from sliding off his bed. Hermione bit down on her lip and remained seated, unsure of what to do.

'If there is anything personal, father, I believe we can discuss it with Hermione. After all, she is, personal to me,' His lips curled into a smirk, leaving Lucius in such a state of annoyance Hermione swore the man was going to internally combust from his own fury.

'Very well then!' Lucius forced a smile as he withdrew his hand from his hip, adjusting his cloak. 'Since there is nothing more for me to discuss, I will be going now. Oh and Draco, your mother and I are absolutely delighted that you would be able to come back for Christmas this year.' Lucius' smile widened when he saw Draco's face expression change from the previous smug look to a wide eyed shocked one. 'After a rather long conversation with Professor Dumbledore, he allowed me to bring you home in exchange for something, else,' Lucius ended with a hiss, diverting his gaze to Hermione who was chewing nervously on her lower lip.

'Again, pleasure to meet you, Miss Granger, and thank you for looking after my son, but as always, I hope you won't be too caught up in looking after him that you would forget to look after-' Lucius raised an eyebrow and looked her from head to toe '-yourself' he ended, and then turned to walk out of the Hospital Wing before any of the two could react.

Draco breathed in a deep breath, ready to reach out to smash a vase or break a window from the anger accumulated from the conversation with his father, but before he could move to do so, Hermione had her arms around him, working it in such a way that it would've been more of a restraint from moving than an actual embrace.

'Breathe.' She whispered to him. 'Just breathe.' Hermione instructed. The Matron had told Hermione that the most damage had been in the core of his brain, and it would take a tad more time to recover since the wound was so deep inside. Hermione knew this would be a big problem because that part of the brain was affected if Draco were experiencing any stress and it would hurt badly. To avoid her lover from hurting anymore, she had to prevent him from getting angry.

Draco almost slipped his tongue and barked at her to fuck off, but they both knew where that argument would lead to and he could not risk losing Granger anymore. He steadied his breathing and closed his eyes, breathing in the smell of her skin. He privately joked that her scent should be made into a kind of perfume, for it smelt wonderful. A smile crept on his face and he wrapped his arms around her tiny frame, kissing her shoulder through the fabric of her shirt.

'What would I do without you?' he mused, pulling her closer into him.

Hermione blushed at his words, and Draco could feel her shy smile as her face was leaning on his shoulder.

'I lo-' Hermione nearly said in return, but immediately covered it with a forced cough. Sensing the awkwardness building between them, Draco realised that they haven't clarified anything about their relationship. Were they together? Did she want to be officially his girlfriend? What if talking about it ruined their current situation. Why oh why did she have to let those words slip out? Draco's heart started pounding. The reality of it all materialising in his mind in a snap. Did he love Granger? He was a Malfoy man. The last thing he wanted to do was to talk about feelings. Even the mention of that word made him cringe, but how would he be in complete comfort with Granger if they did not discuss this? He would've been fine with no talk and all touch until now, and he was going to resolve this.

'Hermione,' he gently pulled away from her, cupping her face with his hands. He only called her Hermione once before this, and he pressumed that she was enough smart to know that he only called her by her first name on special ocassions. She blushed under Draco's mesmerising gaze, one that made her feel the butterflies in her stomach flutter and make her forget to breathe, mixed with feeling ashamed of admitting that she loved him but could not commit to it to finish saying it.

'Draco I...' she fumbled in her mind to find the right words to phrase her actions but words would only fail her if Draco misinterpereted her sentence. She wanted to tell him that she really cared about him, just couldn't bring herself to say it to him, not yet. But what if he wanted to hear me say it? What if he doesn't think I love him enough. Hold. I don't love him. Or do I?

'I like you, I like you a lot. I care about you more than anyone I ever known. I hope that's enough for you now, because I feel the same way that you do. I'm not ready yet.' he confessed, looking into her chocolate eyes. Although every nerve in his system was tingling at the fact that he was pouring out his emotions to someone else, he believed Granger deserved to know it. It was difficult for him to spontaneously jump into the topic of it, but there was no turning back now.

'I like you, I like you alot. I care about you more than anyone I ever known. I hope that's enough for you now, because I feel the same way that you do. I'm not ready yet.' he confessed, looking into her chocolate eyes then letting go of her face. Although every nerve in his system was tingling at the fact that he was pouring out his emotions to someone else, he believed Granger deserved to know it. It was difficult for him to spontaneously jump into the topic of it, but there was no turning back now.

Hermione felt her heart skip a beat, those pesky butterflies in her stomach fluttering even more to make her feel light headed. She could not believe her ears, nor did she know how to react, or how to stop herself before she did something stupid. Almost immediately, a broad grin made its way to her previously frightened expression, and before she could think of the perfect reply to him, she blurted out a simple, 'I like you a lot, too,' in an almost childish way, on the brink of bursting out in a fit of girly giggles, the type which could only be elicited by a child getting what they wanted. But although her heart was pounding widly against her tiny frame, and she was smiling so wide her cheeks were about to start hurting, she was in complete disbelief of her own ears. Sure, she knew that Draco had feelings for her, but to hear him say it out triggered a completely new feeling. He likes me, he actually likes me!

Draco felt a bit taken aback by Hermione's minimal word response to his confession, because Granger was never one who was lost for words. Although her expression told him otherwise, her words allowed him to dictate that she was being polite as not to hurt his feelings. Luckily for him, his heartfelt confession was not wasted when Hermione clumsily- Draco swore it was the cutest he's ever seen her- tried to express how she felt all at once, which came into a random clutter of words.

'I like you! I really! You make me speechless and I don't know what to say and uhm I care about you more than uhm I'm sorry I'm not ready but uhm I just, I want to...' she bit her lip and furrowed her brow, realising that the words which were flowing out of her mouth were making no sense at all.

'I just really really like you...' she concluded, the smile reappearing on her face.

'I know, love.' he replied bluntly, and before the butterflies could react in Hermione's stomach because Draco had called her 'love' and meant it this time, he leaned in for another kiss.

..

Lucius Malfoy wore a disgusted scowl on his face, furious about his sons' recent behaviour. How dare he embarrass him in such a way, and with that Mudblood girl in his arms like he was never thought to stay away from dirt. He walked through the corridor, aiming a blasting curse at the nearest torch which blew up in flames immediately. He then walked took heavy breaths, trying to keep himself calm, but the anger and fear was eating him up dreadfully from the inside. He wanted to tell his son what curse to use to destroy the blood traitor quickly and immediately, so that he would be safe and that he could take the Dark Mark, but no. Draco had to be rebellious as to allow the Mudblood to hang around.

He was not a bad father, Lucius Malfoy. He offered Draco to take the Dark Mark as a form of protection, so that Voldemort would not threaten to hurt him if Lucius were to fail in any way. He had learnt that trick when the Dark Lord had tortured not those who defied him, but their children first. The worst thing which could happen to Draco was a Crucio or two, but not death, definitely not death; and if Draco were to be in danger, Lucius would be able to use the fact that Draco could be used to tear down Hogwarts inside out when Voldemort needed to, for he was a student after all.

After apparating back to his Manor, he immediately went down to the dungeons to check on the blood traitor. He might be a terrible dueller, after all and he would not have to worry about his son that much. Trying to ignore the foul smell of dirt as he went down to the dungeon, he was not bothered at all by the ginger boy who was facing away from him on purpose.

'The fuck are you here for?' Ron was blunt. After being locked up for an extended period of time, he was sick of these people. Lucius did not speak as he approached the boy, who had his body bound by a metal rings. He was able to walk and move, but his movements were restricted. He could not make it ten steps closer to the gate or the metal rings would tighten, and the one around his neck would cause him to choke unless he backs off. Lucius quietly took out his wand and with a non-verbal spell he stunned Ron, and then proceeded to set a hex on him, one with very dire consequences.

He looked at the boy, passed out painfully on the ground. He sighed as he imagined the boy being Draco, but it had to be done. Draco had to win. It was the blood traitor or his own son, and he had to do whatever it took to keep his son alive and well.

..

'Canary Cream', Hermione announced before entering the headmaster's office. She had requested to meet with Professor Dumbledore after Draco fell asleep, for she could not bring herself to leave his side.

She walked into the office, expecting her headmasters' presence in the room. Instead, she was greeted by the yawns snores of sleeping portraits, covered by black cloth. Her kind headmaster must have made sure that their late night appointment would not disturb the sleep of the previous headmasters of the school.

Granger took to looking around the oddly shaped room, which she found herself slightly claustrophobic from the circular shape of the room and the objects which made the place seemed like it was going to crumble upon her any moment. She glanced over to the mahogany table at the centre of the room, and saw the headmasters Phoenix sleeping soundly. Feeling intrigued by the magnificent bird, Hermione shuffled closer towards the bird to examine its fire red feathers when suddenly the great bird's eyes shot open, and a startled Hermione stumbled backwards, tripping over the marble steps and falling down on her back with a loud thud. She hissed in pain and cursed under her breath, but when she stood up to brush the dirt of her school robes, she noticed a shifting of the objects in the room, and when she turned around there was a Pensieve in place. Beside the big bowl was a cabinet full of vials which read different names or situations, but the only one which caught her eye was the one which was labelled 'Draco Malfoy, D.A.P 1'

Curious, Hermione carefully took the vial out and poured its contents into the Pensieve before dipping her head into the bowl. She expected herself to feel wet at first but instead she felt a strong sucking motion, pulling her into the bowl. She fell face flat onto a hard concrete ground which she recognised as the entrance to the Great Hall. Groaning in pain, Granger stood up, adjusting her robes and cursed under her breath for falling down twice in less than ten minutes. She then turned to see Draco walking with Blaise behind her, and in reflex she almost threw her arms towards him, for this Draco did not have bandages wrapped around his muscular frame, nor did he have light marks of bruises on his flawless pale skin. The presence of this Draco was much different too. He and Blaise walked, or rather swaggered to the Great Hall as if they were much superior compared to everyone else, like they owned the place.

Hermione felt her breath catch when Draco walked right through her, slightly shocked that she had just been walked through by another person, but smacked herself mentally when she remembered that it was Draco's memory vial. She shook her head and followed him till he reached his own table, then took large portions of food onto his plate to eat. He looked very hungry indeed. Feeling as though she had no idea when this happened, she looked up to try to locate herself. She saw a red-eyed Hermione Granger sitting at the Gryffindor table, with Ginny talking to her. Granger had figured that it was probably a few days after she had decided to leave the Astronomy Tower for her own good and now she was eating again. This would mean that it was after Draco had put his arm around her for the first time in said place.

She could not quite put her finger upon what day this was, until she found herself staring intently at Draco when it hit her. This was the day right after their first encounter in the Astronomy Tower. This was how everything started. Later that day she received her first Secret Admirer gift, and that night Draco kissed her for the very first time. It all made sense now, this was how it all began.

She stared intently at Draco now, not wanting to miss anything. Draco had probably consumed the Amortentia right now, but how? Could a professor had accidentally slip it into his drink? Was it one of his friends? She kept her focus on Draco to see if anything changed. Draco only looked up to look back at the other Hermione who was staring at him too, only to have her look away immediately. Draco smirked to himself, and Hermione had to resist the urge to slap him playfully for being such an arrogant git. He reached out for his cup of water to take a big gulp, before stopping to taste it properly. _This is it_, Hermione thought. She looked at a panicked Draco slam his cup down on the table before standing up quickly, eyes widened and breath quickening. _Could he know?_ _But how could he know and how did it get in there?_ She stood up to follow Draco as a million questions rushed through her head. Her worst fears have been confirmed. Draco really was on a love potion. Her heart pounded in pain as the tears threatened to flow out of her eyes. She wanted nothing but to ball herself up and rock herself to stop the pain, but she had to follow Draco. She was about to start running after him when she felt herself being sucked out of the Pensieve. _This could not be it, could it? The memory could not be so short!_

'I am terribly sorry Miss Granger!' a hoarse voice apologised the moment Hermione found herself back in the Headmaster's office. 'I thought you were someone else,' he hurried to mention.

'It-it's okay, prof-professor,' she stuttered, still recovering from the shock that she had moved from one place to another so quickly. Backing into the closest wall to regain her balance, she felt the tears at the back of her eyes, wanting to come out again.

'Now, Miss Granger. What was it that you like to discuss at this time of night? I believe it to be quite urgent, is it?' her Headmaster asked calmly, trying to get Hermione to calm herself down.

'Erm, er. Sorry sir. I-I think that can wait till another time now, thank you and I'm sorry for bothering you this late at night please have a good rest I'll come another time,' Hermione rushed, turning her back against the Professor as fast as possible to run out the door.

The befuddled Headmaster simply blinked at the girl in a rush to get out of his office, wondering what he did wrong before turning to see the culprit, the Pensieve. Curiously he dipped his head into the bowl once more, and he was brought to the last scene which Hermione witnessed. He strode along to follow Draco, still unsure of what memory this may be and who it was concerning, but he managed to follow the young Malfoy down to the dungeons and into his own room. It was then where Professor Dumbledore realised which memory this was, and sighed, shaking his head for having such terrible timing, for what Miss Granger would have seen next would have changed her feelings completely.

Miss Granger had seen her lover consume Amortentia, but had not finish viewing the memory where Draco Malfoy had rushed back to his dorm to take a potion, one which countered the effects of Amortentia. The old man returned to his office, walking around while trying to figure out whether Hermione Granger would jeopardize the whole plan with her recent discovery, but then smiled to himself when he realised how much better the plan would work out this way. Turning to his phoenix who was now rather angry from being awoken at this late hour, he used the back of his finger to pet the top of its head.

'Oh Fawkes, how perfect fate is after all,'

**Hello guys! :D I really hope this chapter is clear enough for you all, and I know the Lucius part wasn't necessary but I felt obliged to point out that he isn't actually a total son of a bitch and he actually does care about Draco, but in a different way. ****and and and I hope you guys get the whole Pensieve part, if not then you have to wait till a few more chapters to find out how this is all pieced together :/ **

**I love every one of you who reads, and love you even more if you review, so thank you all x **


	23. AffectEffect

Look Into My Eyes, And Tell Me You Love Me: Affect/Effect

'_You are sure of this information, Severus?' Professor Dumbledore looked up from his half moon spectacles to the pale man who stood erect with his hands behind his back in front of him, rubbing his temple with his hand. _

'_Absolutely, sir. The Weasley boy is in Malfoy Manor.' Severus nodded slowly, clearing his throat in the end._

'_Then what are we waiting for Albus? Why can't we go and get him?' a flustered witch by the name of Minerva McGonagall enquired with agitation in her voice, while pacing up and down with her arms crossed, worried. _

'_There seems to be some kind of-' Severus turned to Minerva, his low monotonous voice calm as ever '-complication, Minerva.' He raised an eyebrow at her before turning back to the headmaster._

'_They have the boy bound by some kind of dark magic. There is no counter-curse nor is there spell which can weaken it. It is-' Severus sighed 'impossible.' He ended. _

'_Does the Malfoy boy know anything about this matter?' Professor Dumbledore asked after a few moments of deliberation, seeking a loophole in the matter._

'_I am not sure, sir,' Severus replied bluntly. Lucius had no reason to tell his son that he had his schoolmate lock in the bowels of their own home, but there was a possibility. _

'_Then the only choice we have now, is to hope that he does,'_

Severus Snape eyed the Slytherin table in the Great Hall, his mind replaying the meeting with Professor Dumbledore the previous night. He rolled a small vial of potion in the palm of his hand, thinking about the things that little amount of liquid could do, but the deed was already done. Now all he had to do was to wait.

Almost on cue, the door to the Great Hall slammed open and one arrogant looking Draco Malfoy was accompanied by the Zabini boy as they made their way to their table. Severus retrieved his wand from his robe pocket and muttered a small charm, dragging an invisible cup upon the surface of the Slytherin table to where the young Malfoy was seated. When he found the suitable place to lay the cup, Severus lifted the Disillutionment Charm on the cup and it was right in front of Draco, solid and completely visible.

Draco, who was too busy filling his stomach did not notice the appearance of the cup and took a gulp of it the moment he saw it. But right after he swallowed the first gulp, his eyes widened as he knitted his brows together, getting a better taste of the liquid he just swallowed. He took a sniff of the strange drink and started to panic, slamming the cup down on the table before standing up, hurrying towards the entrance of the Great Hall.

'Mate what's wrong?' Blaise cocked his head up to look at Draco but he was already half way out the hall.

Draco was taking deep breaths, afraid of the effects of the substance he had just consumed.

Bloody fucking hell, he cursed under his breath. He started feeling light headed, but it was already expected. He tried to stay in control of himself by monitoring his breathing but he could feel the routine feeling of his skin tingling with the need to be touched by another human being. Passing a few girls, he glared at them but had no real urge to lunge onto them.

Salazar, who the fuck is it now, he groaned.

From young, many girls have tried to slip Love Potions or even Lust Potions (which was more of an aphrodisiac with a twist) into Draco's food and drink that the boy had known to stay away from things which smelled too good to be true. When he was twelve and in love with Pansy, anything else which smelled like lavender taught him that it was a threat to him. Now, several years later, without a love in his life, everything which had Love Potion in it smelled particularly like the musky smell of sex. Draco never told anyone about it though, for he felt rather pathetic that not having a love in his life had resulted to letting intercourse take it's number one spot in his heart, if he did have one. He stumbled his way into his common room, the tingling sensation running like adrenaline through his nerves, pleading him for human contact.

'Drakey are you okay?' Pansy cooed in her baby voice which Draco once found cute but now it just sounded squeaky and obnoxious to him.

'Fine,' he grunted, surprised that his body wasn't driving himself to Pansy. He knew if the potion were to sink into his veins he would feel completely different, like a love-sick puppy. Making his way towards his room, he forcefully opened all his drawers, fumbling through his belongings in search of the counter potion to reverse the damage. It was not until he stretched his hand deep into his second drawer when he found a long cylindrical vial. He uncorked it and drank it hastily, expecting the tingling feeling to wear off. Breathing a sigh of relief when he felt the tingling dull, he lied flat on his bed and groaned. Maybe later he would go and find the girl who did this to him.

Severus Snape did not lift more than an eyebrow when he saw Draco Malfoy hurry out of the Great Hall moments after he drank the potion. Snape had already weighed the chances that the Slytherin could detect the presence of magic in the potion because it was a rather strong one. He stood up to leave to the dungeons, thinking that it would be the only place that Draco would go. A few minutes later a Slytherin boy sat in the exact same place that Draco did, seeing that it was the only vacant seat closest to the entrance of the hall. That boy happened to be none other than Theodore Nott. He sat, ate, drank and felt strange, but unlike Malfoy, he did not do anything about it.

Snape waited along the dungeons for Malfoy to reappear to go to Quidditch practice, and the boy looked almost deranged when he stumbled out of the portrait hole, looking frantically around for someone or something. Snape hid in an alcove, watching the boy's strange behaviour. He could have known that it was a love potion, could he? Snape can only speculate by judging Draco's actions, and now it told him that the boy knew that there was something different in his system, but his wide-eyed confused stare convinced him that Slytherin's seeker did not know what had been put into his system. Satisfied with his observations, Snape left without a sound.

..

Theodore Nott carefully wrapped a bouquet of roses with a coloured piece of parchment like how the Muggles did, and secured it with a big red ribbon on the middle. He constantly turned his back when he heard someone approaching him from behind, because he did not want to let out news that he had someone special now. It is in Slytherin nature to speculate, judge and sought out to destroy any type of happiness, and Theo was not about to risk that.

'That's pretty,' Theodore jumped and turned back to see Blaise with his arms crossed, looking at the flowers. 'I appreciate your intentions Theo, but I sadly have to reject for I don't do guys.' Blaise smirked at Theo who was clutching his heart from the shock he got from Blaise.

'Zabini you-' he said breathlessly '-take my breath away?' Blaise finished the sentence for him 'Because you sure do sound like it.' Theodore rolled his eyes. Blaise never failed in turning every conversation into a comical one based about himself.

'So, now that I've rejected you, who are you going to give that pretty bunch of flowers to?' Blaise leaned on the table as Theo hurried to take the flowers further away from Blaise.

'No one.' Theo murmured. Maybe Blaise would go away if he got uninterested.

'Theo, come on mate, if she's someone I know I would try not to shag her,' Blaise smirked again. 'You know, because we're mates,' he added to seem convincing. Theo's eyes widened at the thought of the dark-skinned wizard taking his girl back to their dorm for a shag, and felt nauseous.

'Oh really?' he masked his disgust, challenging Blaise.

'Either that or I can ask around to see who you have the hots for.' Blaise responded cunningly, knowing that Theo would not want anyone would want to know what he was doing.

'Fine. It's Granger,' Theo admitted, burying his face in his hands. Blaise, knitted his eyebrows together, unsure of if Nott was playing bluff or he was just out of his mind.

'Okay, whatever you say. Now sit back, relax and Mr. Love will handle these flowers for you,' Blaise said, grabbing the flowers from Theo, trying to call his bluff.

'Really? You won't throw them away?' Theo lifted his face up to look at Blaise, and Blaise saw nothing but sincerity behind Theo's green eyes.

'No guarantees but yeah sure,' Blaise mumbled half-heartedly. If it was one thing that a close friend of Blaise would know, it was that Blaise was at his most sincerest when he spoke quietly as if he did not want to admit it.

'Thanks mate,' Theo stood up and pat Zabini's back with much force that caused him to cough, and then leaving the room. He was doing Zabini a favour to avoid the awkward situation, and knew that Blaise would appreciate it.

Blaise gingerly held the bouquet in his hand and went down to the pitch where he would find the only person he knew that had connections with Granger, Ginny Weasley. Blaise had his eye out for Ginny Weasley since she began playing for Gryffindor, and he have been wanting a chance to talk to her ever since. He never admitted it to anyone though, and brushed off Pansy every time she tried to lure him into telling her more about his feelings for the Weasley girl. "_Feelings_", Blaise snorted as if it were some joke.

'Weasley,' he called out just as he saw her long red hair from afar.

'Zabini,' she replied almost bitterly.

'Someone's got their knickers in a twist,' Blaise raised his eyebrow. 'Hurried to put them on after you shagged Potter in the broom shed?' he teased, but inside his heart was swelling up. What if she really was fucking Potter? Of course she is, they're together, the fuck is wrong with you Blaise.

'Oi Zabini!' blinked at Ginny who was standing in front of him, her face as red as her hair, and absolutely furious.

'What, sorry.' He mumbled. 'What were you saying?' he tilted his head to a side and scratched his head, continuing the act of a blur soul.

'I asked you what did you want,' she replied sternly. What did I want?

'Right, right. Here. Give Granger. From Secret Admirer. Not me, I'm a messenger,' Blaise pushed the bouquet into Ginny's hand and turned the heel to walk away. Never has he felt that way in front of a girl. At that moment he felt the cocky air in himself just seep away through the brick floor. Blaise shaked his head to clear his mind. _Now where's Daphne, I need to fuck_, he thought.

..

Draco opened his eyes. It was late, very late as the Hospital Wing was dark and quiet. He lay on his side, cold and sore from the healing process.

'Granger,' he mumbled to himself, loving the sound of her name roll off his tongue. Speaking of Granger, where was she anyway? He slowly flipped over to the other side of his cot to see Granger with her face buried in her hands, sobbing.

'Granger…' he whispered. If Draco were to wish for something at that moment, it was for Granger never to cry again. It was painful to watch her cry when half the time he knew that he was the reason. She lifted her head to look at him, her eyes puffy and reddened from tears. Draco nodded and Hermione moved to lie down on the small cot next to him. Her small body was cold for being out at night without a proper cloak or blanket. Draco secured his arm around her waist to pull her into him, as well as to warm her up.

'Merlin woman, you could've froze,' he whispered, not knowing why she did not use a Warming Charm on herself.

'Draco I love you,' she blurted. 'And I always will, even if you don't love me.' She swallowed and buried her head into the pillow, accepting the scent of him on the pillow, unwilling to face Draco's reply, whatever it may be. She felt the bed dip lower as Draco brought himself up by pressing his elbow against the bed, and she buried her head deeper, expecting him to walk away, but he didn't, instead he merely supported his head with his elbow and was looking down at her with his silver eyes.

'Granger look at me,' he said softly in a commanding tone of voice. Hermione abided him and turned on the cot, careful not to make any big movements for the small bed could barely hold them both. Brown eyes met grey.

'I love you too,' and before she had time to respond he dipped his head down to catch her lips in a kiss.

(to be continued)

**Hey guys I'm so sorry posting this so late :/ But yeah I hope this chapter cleared out the doubts from before and any confusion, and yeah. I hope you guys enjoy it, and tell me what you think :D a cookie for your thoughts;  
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Ps; Next chapter will be where the M rating comes in, yeah the smut. So this an early warning for the next chapter in case you don't like it x


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